In September 2022 NASA completed one of its most important missions in history: DARTabbreviation in English for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. The goal was to determine if it was possible to deflect an object in its path of impact with the Earth by crashing into it with a spacecraft. The answer was not received shortly after the moment of impact, but very recently – as four studies confirmed that the goal was achieved.

The celestial body chosen for testing was Dimorphossmall satellite of an asteroid Didymos, which does not pose an immediate threat to our planet, but is close in size to those that may one day threaten us. And according to peer-reviewed articles, the orbit of the system itself was changed in 33 minutes, more than the US agency wanted: seven was enough to succeed.

The object rerouting information was confirmed by one of four DART-friendly studies that wanted to not only test the possibility of “protection” but also whether it was actually viable. “We needed to demonstrate that an asteroid could be hit during a high speed impact and that the target’s orbit could be changed. DART did both,” the authors write.

The mission was a rehearsal for a possible future threat.

Another factor tested by the researchers was the expectation that a mission of such importance would have to take place. At first there would be no need for advanced reconnaissance flights, as NASA did during the tests, but their implementation would increase the chance of success. Such information is important for the autonomy, logistics and route calculation of kamikaze ships.

In future European Space Agency (ESA), will send probes to carefully study the impact site. And in addition to contributing to Earth’s defense research, DART’s impact will also help understand the natural processes of asteroids, as Dimorphos is now “active,” meaning it is ejecting material into space. A full plate for scientists.

And if you’re worried that we need to put the plan into action soon, don’t worry: there are no threats to our planet, at least until the end of the 21st century. However, since we do not yet know all the nearby objects, there is a chance that a potentially dangerous celestial body will suddenly appear. So prevention is better than cure, and DART has helped us prepare.

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Source: ExtremeTech

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