space rock changed course

NASA’s test to change course with a space rock passed. The space agency has announcement. This is the first time that mankind has altered the motion of a celestial body, according to NASA.

NASA collided the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) space probe at a speed of about 20,000 kilometers per hour with Dimorphos, a 160-meter-wide asteroid. The collision was a test to see if such a maneuver could re-orbit an asteroid that was threatening to hit Earth.

“This is a turning point for planetary defense and a turning point for humanity,” NASA chief Bill Nelson said.

Raster images:

Dimorphos, which orbits its larger sister Didymos with a diameter of 750 meters, was not on a collision course with Earth. There was also no danger that the collision with DART could push Dimorphos towards Earth.

Due to the collision, Dimorphos’ orbit appears to have been shortened by 32 minutes. According to NASA, this shows that such a mission is a viable way to one day deflect a space rock that is on a collision course with Earth.

Scientists had predicted that the DART impact would shorten Dimorphos’ orbital path by at least 10 minutes. They also said they would consider a change of just 73 seconds a success.

The mission cost about $330 million in total. The DART was launched in November 2021 spear.

A photo last week showed the rock expanding, comet tail had received over 10,000 kilometers, consisting of dust and other materials. The photo was taken two days after the collision.