NASA just slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid. This is the first-ever test of Earth's planetary defense system. (An asteroid is a small, rocky object. It travels around the sun.) But don't worry. This asteroid is not a threat to Earth.
The spacecraft is known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. It is also called DART. On September 26, it smashed into the asteroid Dimorphos. This asteroid is 525 feet wide. That is 160 meters wide. NASA believes that DART is a crucial mission. It will prove how humans could nudge an asteroid away from Earth.
DART made a direct hit with Dimorphos. The spacecraft was traveling at roughly 13,420 miles per hour. That is 21,160 kilometers per hour. The spacecraft disintegrated upon impact.
On A Mission To Slow Dimorphos
In November 2021, DART launched from California. It launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Then, DART undertook a 10-month mission. It traveled 7 million miles. That is 11 million kilometers. It finally arrived at the asteroid.
Scientists had been studying Dimorphos for a long time. They knew that it orbited around a larger asteroid. This asteroid is called Didymos. To orbit something is to take a repeating path around that object. DART's goal was to slow the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos.
Before the impact, Dimorphos took 12 hours to orbit Didymos. NASA will see how the impact changed that. They hope that the orbit slows by 73 seconds. New information will pour in for weeks to come. It will tell NASA how successful that mission was.
Camera Captures Final Moments
DART's final moments were captured by its camera. It helped steer the spacecraft into its collision. Scientists saw Dimorphos about an hour before the impact.
The spacecraft continued to approach Dimorphos. The asteroid's rough terrain and boulders became bigger. Then, the image blanked out. The scientists could not see anything.
That's why they will turn to the Italian space agency. The space agency developed a smaller spacecraft. It split from DART on September 11. This spacecraft will orbit the aftermath of the collision. It will then beam photos back to Earth.
The collision was monitored by observatories on the ground. It was also observed through telescopes. These observations will help scientists. They want to learn more about asteroids. They want to figure out how much force is needed to push an asteroid away from our planet.
New Mission Will Judge Success Of Crash
In 2026, the European Space Agency will run a new mission. It is known as the Hera mission. The Hera spacecraft will launch toward Didymos and Dimorphos. It will study the long-term effects of the crash. This will help scientists analyze the impact. They will judge the success of the mission.
The results of the impact may be a few years away. However, DART's planners are excited. They believe making it to the target is a major achievement.
"Dimorphos is a tiny asteroid," said Tom Statler. He works at NASA. "We've never seen it up close, we don't know what it looks like, we don't know what the shape is. Hitting an asteroid is a tough thing to do."
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