NASA released data from the DART mission two weeks after it hit Dimorphos. The results concluded that the space mission was a complete success: the crash significantly changed the trajectory of the asteroid to a greater extent than expected.

If humans had controlled Earth and had current technology in the late Cretaceous period, they might have had a chance to counter the asteroid crash that hit Earth near the Yucatan Peninsula and prevent the ensuing mass extinction, including the dinosaurs.

That’s the goal of DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), a “kamikaze” spacecraft that acts as a kinetic “impactor” to redirect the trajectory of asteroids (or comets) on a collision course with Earth that, due to their size, could cause significant damage, even more an extinction that will end a large part of the species that inhabit them, including humans.

DART changed the orbit of Dimorphos

NASA studied crash data over the past several weeks and concluded that the spacecraft’s kinetic impact on its target, Dimorphos, successfully altered the asteroid’s trajectory. Yippee For the first time in history, humans have managed to deliberately change the displacement of a celestial object and it is also the first large-scale demonstration of asteroid deflection technology.

To determine the mission’s success since the intentional collision on September 26, astronomers used telescopes to observe its trajectory and data from LICIACube, a briefcase-sized spacecraft developed by the Italian Space Agency that separated from DART 15 days before impact and made its own flyby, taking images minutes after collision.

Before the DART impact, Dimorphos took 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit its larger host asteroid Didymos. Now the research team has confirmed that the spacecraft impact changed Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes, reducing the orbit from 11 hours and 55 minutes to 11 hours and 23 minutes. This measurement has a deviation of approximately 2 minutes.

A complete success, higher than expected. The research will now focus on measuring the momentum transfer efficiency of the DART’s 14,000 mph collision with its target. This includes further analysis of the “ejection” of tons of rock from the asteroid that were displaced by the impact and ejected into space.

Neither Dimorphos nor Didymos posed any danger to Earth, before or after the DART collision, but the idea is to prepare for the future and avoid what has already happened on Earth and, according to astronomers, may happen again. “We all have a responsibility to protect our home planet.” After all, it’s all we have.’NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “This is a watershed moment for planetary defense,” ensures.