NASA is planning an “Armageddon”-like mission of crashing a rocket into a space rock, and they believe general society should observe it live.
Space rocks often draw near to hitting Earth, yet it’s been north of 65 million years since a horrendous one has influenced our planet. Also, there’s been a restored interest in objects rushing toward us since the fame of the 2021 Armageddon satire “Don’t Look Up.”
Fortunately, NASA will try out its arrangement in the event that it at any point works out.
The space office’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will collide with the space rock Dimorphos, which circles a bigger space rock named Didymos, one month from now. Researchers say neither one of the space rocks is going towards Earth, yet with Dimorphos at an expected 520 feet in length, a space rock could cause huge harm if it somehow managed to hit Earth, NASA says.
No matter what the result, the mission will give stargazers and researchers “significant information” on what the reaction would be should a risky space rock have a crash course with Earth. Researchers say there is no danger to us as of now.
“We don’t want to be in a position where an asteroid is heading toward Earth and then have to put this capabilities to the test. Before we go into a situation like that, we want to know how the spacecraft operates as well as how the asteroid will react to the hit.”
Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer for NASA
“We would rather not be in a circumstance where a space rock makes a beeline for Earth and then must test this sort of capacity. “We need to be familiar with both how the rocket functions and what the response will be by the space rock to the effect before we at any point get into a circumstance like that,” Lindley Johnson, planetary guard official for NASA, said in November.
When will DART stir things up around town, Dimorphos?
DART will finish its 10-month journey through space on Sept. 26, at around 7:14 p.m. ET. NASA’s live inclusion of the occasion will start at 6 p.m. ET.
Ten days in advance, DART will deliver a small perception rocket that will catch the crash.
Where could I at any point watch the DART mission’s influence?
NASA will live stream the occasion on NASA TV and their site. It can likewise be seen on their virtual entertainment accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
How will DART respond?
The crash will occur around 6.8 million miles from Earth. Coming in at 15,000 miles each hour, DART will not obliterate Dimorphos, yet “give it a little prod.” Doing so will influence the space rock circle by around 1%, which would be sufficient to redirect one from Earth.
“It’s a particularly thrilling mission,” Andy Cheng, lead examiner of DART, said in November. “It’s amazing.”
