NASA might have just discovered how to protect earth from a doomsday scenario brought about by a cataclysmic collision with an asteroid. And yes, it’s something ripped right off the silver screen. The space agency recently confirmed that crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid could potentially alter its trajectory, which ultimately could protect Earth from being involved in a massive disaster.
Last year, NASA crashed a spacecraft into a 525-foot asteroid moonlet known as Dimorphos to try and alter its orbit around a much larger asteroid. The mission was a success.
Back in October, the agency said that Dimorphos’ orbit was indeed changed due to the impact.
“All of us have a responsibility to protect our home planet. After all, it’s the only one we have,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson went on to say concerning the mission. “This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us. NASA has proven we are serious as a defender of the planet.”
“This is a watershed moment for planetary defense and all of humanity, demonstrating commitment from NASA’s exceptional team and partners from around the world,” he continued.
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No known asteroid poses a threat to Earth for at least the next century, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Still, NASA wants to be prepared.
Before the spacecraft’s impact, it took Dimorphos 11 hours, 55 minutes to orbit its larger parent asteroid, Didymos.
Since the intentional collision with Dimorphos on Sept. 26, NASA has confirmed the spacecraft’s impact altered Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes.
Before the collision during the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), NASA had defined a minimum successful orbit period change of Dimorphos as change of 73 seconds or more. Early data showed that was surpassed by more than 25 times.
“This result is one important step toward understanding the full effect of DART’s impact with its target asteroid,” Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters in Washington, went on to state. “As new data comes in each day, astronomers will be able to better assess whether, and how, a mission like DART could be used in the future to help protect Earth from a collision with an asteroid if we ever discover one headed our way.”
