Tag: NASA DART asteroid

Technology

Asteroid Dimorphos, struck by NASA spacecraft, leaves 10000 km debris trail

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally crashed into Asteroid Dimorphos. An asteroid which was deliberately smashed by NASA's DART spacecraft has left a trail of debris stretching thousands of kilometres, a new image captured by a telescope in Chile shows. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally crashed into Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet in the double-asteroid system of Didymos, on September 26. This was the first planetary defence test in which an impact of a spacecraft attempted to modify the orbit of an asteroid. Two days after DART's impact, astronomers used the 4.1-meter Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope in Chile to capture the vast plume of dust and debris blasted from the asteroid's surface. ...
Technology

‘A new era’: NASA DART mission strikes asteroid in key test of planetary defense

Testing out its planetary defense capabilities, NASA successfully conducts the DART mission after crashing into asteroid Dimorphos. NASA's DART spaceship on Monday struck the asteroid Dimorphos in a historic test of humanity's ability to prevent a cosmic object from devastating life on Earth.Impact occurred at 7:14 pm Eastern Time (2314 GMT), 10 months after the Double Asteroid Redirection Test probe blasted off from California to carry out its first-of-a-kind experiment. "We're embarking on a new era, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous hazardous asteroid impact," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division. The 530-foot (160-meter) aste...
Technology

NASA DART spacecraft Rams Distant Asteroid in Test of Earth Defense

A NASA spacecraft successfully crashed into an asteroid approximately 7 million miles from Earth in a test to determine if the impact can nudge the space rock slightly off course. (Bloomberg) -- A NASA spacecraft successfully crashed into an asteroid approximately 7 million miles from Earth in a test to determine if the impact can nudge the space rock slightly off course.NASA launched its DART spacecraft in November of 2021 with the express purpose of colliding with an asteroid about the size of a football stadium at 14,000 miles per hour. The mission is NASA's first demonstration of the agency's planetary-defense initiative to protect Earth from the possibility of a hazardous collision with an asteroid. This particular aste...
Technology

BEWARE! DART asteroid hunting mission can be disastrous for Earth if tech gets into wrong hands

The DART mission to redirect an asteroid is billed as potentially planet-saving. But in the wrong hands it has seriously destructive potential. The DART mission to redirect an asteroid is billed as potentially planet-saving. But if the tech gets in the wrong hands, it has seriously destructive potential. In September 2022 an event of planetary importance will take place. With the assistance of a privately funded rocket, NASA's DART mission will test the feasibility of redirecting an asteroid. The mission is, in NASA's words, “to test and validate a method to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat”. NASA's spacecraft will crash head-on into a small asteroid called Dimorphos, with the aim of altering its orbit arou...
Technology

Awesome! After DART spacecraft crashes into asteroid, ESA’s Hera to check effect of impact

ESA's Hera spacecraft will observe the aftermath of the collission of the DART mission spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos. NASA's $240 million DART Mission spacecraft is all set to collide with its target asteroid Dimorphos on September 26. The mission was launched in November last year with the aim to smash a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos and to deflect it away from its path. Although this asteroid is non-threatening for Earth, the NASA asteroid mission aims to carry out an experiment to gain greater knowledge as to what will happen if a craft is crashed against a space rock. In yet another amazing revelation, the European Space Agency (ESA) has a follow-up mission to NASA's DART Mission in the works. The sp...