On September 27, DART succeeded in hitting the target asteroid. However, up to this point, victory could not yet be claimed, as the true purpose of the mission was even more ambitious. However, NASA recently reported that everything went according to plan. DART not only hit the asteroid, but also knocked it out of orbit. Thus, we can now say that the experiment was a success.
To achieve this determination, NASA analyzed the trajectory of the asteroid Dimorphos for two weeks. Luckily, DART collision deflected orbit by 32 minutesenough for the success of the mission. In fact, before the collision, the US space agency mentioned that it needed to be deflected by at least 73 seconds. Thus, the end result far exceeded expectations.
Although the NASA spacecraft was not intended to handle the current emergency, it a key step to avert a future disaster. The Earth is not immune from an asteroid impact, as happened millions of years ago. For this reason, the agency wants to be prepared for a possible situation that endangers the well-being of mankind.
NASA wants to protect Earth, and DART’s success proves it
“We are all responsible for protect our planet. After all, we only have one. This mission shows that NASA is trying to be prepared for whatever the universe throws at us. NASA has shown that we are serious about protecting the planet. This is a watershed moment for planetary defense and for all of humanity, and highlights the commitment of the agency’s exceptional team and partners around the world,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
For her part, Lori Gleizes, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said data from the DART collision will allow astronomers to explore whether such a mission is feasible to “protect the Earth from an asteroid impact”. Unless, of course, the agency identifies one of them with a trajectory towards our planet.
Eye, NASA will continue to study Dimorphos. Cause? The more data you have about its orbit, the more you know about DART’s effectiveness. It is worth noting that the analysis of the asteroid comes from the Earth. In particular, on the Goldstone planetary radar at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and on the Green Bank Telescope of the National Science Foundation in West Virginia.
“DART has provided us with some exciting data on the properties of asteroids and the effectiveness of the kinetic impactor as a planetary defense technology. The DART team continues to work with this rich dataset to fully understand this first planetary defense test of asteroid deflection.
Laurel, MD.
Source: Hiper Textual
