NASA succeeds in DART mission, nudges asteroid off course

NASA says it has succeeded in its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission by nudging a distant asteroid off course. NASA’s success showcases a potential new method of saving the Earth from dangerous space rocks that astronomers may identify in the future.

NASA officials on Tuesday (October 11) said the spacecraft called DART, which rammed the asteroid last month, was able to alter the trajectory of its moving target.

This just in: The #DARTmission impact is confirmed to have changed the orbit of moonlet Dimorphos around its asteroid Didymos.

For the first time ever, humans changed the motion of a celestial object. More details: https://t.co/aQj8N7fnuV pic.twitter.com/NLR6AqEcaO

— NASA (@NASA) October 11, 2022

Also Watch: NASA’s DART spacecraft hits target asteroid in test of planetary defense system

NASA administrator Bill Nelson, at a press conference, said: “Nasa has proven that we are serious as a defender of the planet.”

On September 26, NASA’s DART spacecraft which is about the size of a refrigerator, had slammed into an asteroid called Dimorphos at 14,000 miles per hour.

Also Read: NASA’s DART mission to test feasibility of redirecting an asteroid

Dimorphos which is roughly the size of a football stadium, orbits around a larger asteroid called Didymos.

Before the impact, Dimorphos orbited Didymos roughly once every 11 hours and 55 minutes. However, after the impact, the orbit is now 11 hours and 23 minutes. This accounts for a 32-minute change based on astronomy observations.

Also Read: Bam! NASA spacecraft crashes into asteroid in defence test

According to NASA, Dimorphos never posed a risk to Earth, but was merely a target asteroid to showcase the deflection technique.