NASA successful in its historic test to protect the earth
NASA intentionally collided spacecraft with an asteroid
New York (USA) – The American space research agency NASA has intentionally impacted an asteroid called Dimorphos with a spacecraft. Dimorphos is 11 million kilometres away from Earth. NASA has successfully completed its first Planetary Defence technology program called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Using this technology, Earth can now be saved from an asteroid strike in the future.
The spacecraft made an impact on the asteroid Dimorphos on 27th September at 4.45 a.m., NASA reported. After the impact, it will take time to determine in which direction the Dimorphos turned. It is not intended to destroy the asteroid, but rather to change its orbit.
IMPACT SUCCESS! Watch from #DARTMIssion’s DRACO Camera, as the vending machine-sized spacecraft successfully collides with asteroid Dimorphos, which is the size of a football stadium and poses no threat to Earth. pic.twitter.com/7bXipPkjWD
— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022
What is Dimorphos ?
Dimorphos is a small asteroid moonlet orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. The system consists of two asteroids, with a smaller asteroid orbiting around the larger asteroid. Dimorphos and Didymos are these two asteroids. Dimorphos revolves around Didymos, which is larger. The distance between the two is only 1.2 kilometres.