NASA says it succeeded in altering asteroid's orbit
October 11, 2022
A NASA spacecraft that rammed into an asteroid did manage to alter the rock's trajectory. The same idea could be used if an asteroid is ever on a collision course with Earth.
The DART spacecraft achieved its primary objective of changing the direction of asteroid Dimorphos through sheer kinetic forceImage: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL via CNP/Consolidated News Photos/picture alliance
Advertisement
The DART spacecraft that NASA deliberately crashed into an asteroid last month succeeded in forcing the rocky moonlet out of its natural orbit, the space agency said Tuesday.
This is the first time humanity has altered the motion of a celestial body, NASA chief Bill Nelson said
"This is a watershed moment for planetary defense and a watershed moment for humanity," Nelson told reporters in announcing the results.
'Ready for whatever the universe throws at us'
Scientists had hoped to shorten the asteroid's orbit by 10 minutes but Nelson said the impact slashed the rock's journey by about 32 minutes.
"DART shortened the 11 hour 55 minute orbit to 11 hours and 23 minutes," he said. "This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us."
What was the mission?
On September 26, the DART spacecraft — which stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test — slammed into Dimorphos, an asteroid of around 160 meters (525 feet) in diameter which orbits Didymos, another, larger asteroid of around 780 meters in diameter.
The asteroid pair orbits our sun every 2.1 years and poses no threat to our planet. That's why scientists chose the pair for the world's first attempt to change the position of a celestial body.
The collision marked the end of part one of the DART mission, a 10-month space journey to autonomously impact and deflect a non-hazardous asteroid.
The mission, which was seven years in the making and cost around $330 million (€339 million), also marked the world's first test of a process designed to stop a potential doomsday meteorite collision with Earth.
NASA also hopes it will provide new data on what scientists call "planetary defense."
How to defend the planet?
Kinetic impact with a spacecraft is just one way to defend the planet.
Should an approaching object be detected early, a spacecraft could fly alongside it long enough to redirect its path, using the ship's gravitational pull and creating what's known as a gravity tractor.
Another option would be to launch nuclear explosives to redirect or destroy an asteroid.
NASA believes such weapons should be used at a distance to avoid blasting the asteroid into pieces, which could further endanger Earth.
dh, jsi/rs (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Inside the cosmos: James Webb Space Telescope continues to dazzle
The James Webb Telescope captures images featuring never-before-seen details showcasing the beauty of the universe. Its latest picture, featuring a new view of the famous "Pillars of Creation," doesn't disappoint.
Image: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The Pillars of Creation
The shot that the Hubble Telescope took of the famous "Pillars of Creation" (left) in 2014 isn't bad. But the image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope that NASA released on October 19, 2022, is something else. The pillars of interstellar gas and dust, and the stars surrounding them, appear in breathtaking, sparkling clarity.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI via AP/picture alliance
Ice giant Neptune
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a spectacular image of Neptune and its rings. The snapshot is "clearer than it has been in more than 30 years," NASA enthuses. Along with the rings of the ice giant, the dust bands around Neptune can be seen just as clearly. Neptune is the only planet in the solar system that is not visible to the naked eye from Earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope previously took its first images of Mars. They show part of its eastern, sunlit hemisphere. The close-up image on the left shows surface features such as Huygens Crater, the dark volcanic Syrtis Major and the Hellas Basin. The "heat map" on the right shows how Mars emits light when it loses heat.
Spinning wormholes
Webb recently peered into a wormhole in the mysterious-looking "Phantom Galaxy." Scientists believe the dust lanes spiral towards an intermediate-mass black hole at the heart of the galaxy.
Image: NASA/ESA/CSA/Judy Schmidt
A galactic collision
The Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years from Earth, owes its appearance to a collision between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy not visible in this image. This snapshot of Cartwheel provides insight into what happened to this galaxy in the past and how it will evolve in the future.
Image: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/CNP/picture alliance
The invisible made visible
What might look like a glittering mountainous landscape is actually the edge of a young star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. The Webb Telescope image reveals for the first time areas where stars are born that were previously invisible.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
A lens to distant galaxies
SMACS 0723 is a galaxy cluster that has the ability to magnify and distort the light of objects behind it. This gives scientists a deep-field view into extremely distant and faint galaxy populations.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
Where stars are born
The Southern Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula — an expanding cloud of gas surrounding a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter, and the dimmer star at its center has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions. Nebulae are where stars are born.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and The ERO Production Team
The home of millions of stars
Stephan’s Quintet is a group of five galaxies. The Webb Telescope image shows never-before-seen details like sparkling clusters of millions of young stars and starburst regions of fresh star birth.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
