NASA will launch a probe to crash into an asteroid to see how difficult it would be to stop a sizeable space rock from hitting Earth.
The spacecraft, known as Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart), will crash into the asteroid called Dimorphos. The asteroid is 11 million km [7 million miles] away, and is not currently on a path to hit Earth, nor will it be after Dart crashes into it.
The mission is reminiscent of the 1998 film Armaggedon. The Hollywood hit featured Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck travelling into space with a team of drilling experts to destroy an asteroid on course to smash into earth. Fortunately the real-life version is just a test run.
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The impact is currently scheduled to take place at 00:14 BST on Tuesday (27 September). Telescopes will be monitoring the crash to assess the impact and its success.
The spacecraft is only 19 meters wide, and will crash into the 780 meter asteroid with the hope of knocking it off course slightly. If successful, any asteroids on a path to hit Earth could be hit in the same way and miss the planet.
Nasa said: “Dart’s target asteroid is not a threat to Earth but is the perfect testing ground to see if this method of asteroid deflection – known as the kinetic impactor technique – would be a viable way to protect our planet if an asteroid on a collision course with Earth were discovered in the future.”
This mission will be the first ever full-scale demonstration of asteroid deflection technology. Dart will accelerate at about 15,000 miles per hour (24,140 kilometres per hour) before colliding with Dimorphos.
In 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its Hera spacecraft, which will go on a two-year journey to the asteroid system to gather information in the aftermath of the crash. ESA said: “By the time Hera reaches Didymos, in 2026, Dimorphos will have achieved historic significance: the first object in the Solar System to have its orbit shifted by human effort in a measurable way.”
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