Thursday, March 13, 2025

Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge

Date:

Share post:

spot_img

Cape Canaveral, Oct 11: A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said on Tuesday while announcing the results of its save-the-world test.
The space agency attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way.
The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble stretching several thousand miles. It took days of telescope observations to determine how much the impact altered the path of the 525-foot (160-metre) asteroid around its companion, a much bigger space rock.
Before the impact, the moonlet took 11 hours and 55 minutes to circle its parent asteroid. Scientists had hoped to shave off 10 minutes but NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the impact altered the asteroid’s orbit by about 32 minutes.
“This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us,” Nelson said during a briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington.
Neither asteroid posed a threat to Earth — and still don’t as they continue their journey around the sun. That’s why scientists picked the pair for the world’s first attempt to alter the position of a celestial body.
Launched last year, the vending machine-size Dart — short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test — was destroyed when it slammed into the asteroid 7 million miles (11 million kilometres) away at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph).
The test cost $325 million. (AP)

spot_img

Related articles

Kremlin aide rejects US ceasefire plan on Ukraine

Washington, March 13: A top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday rejected the US plan of...

President Droupadi Murmu, PM Modi extend Holi greetings to citizens

New Delhi, March 13: President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended their warm wishes to the...

Young Australians struggle with cost of living, mental health: Report

Sydney, March 13: A new report published on Thursday highlighted the growing struggles of young Australians, who are...

Home Ministry gives nod to prosecute Sisodia, Jain facing graft allegations

New Delhi, March 13: In a fresh trouble for former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, facing...