'Earthlings can sleep better' As NASA Crash Spaceship Into Asteroid
Science/Medical/Technology
Tuesday 27th, September 2022
NASA has successfully crashed a spaceship into an asteroid to try and alter it's trajectory as part of planetary defence.
The spaceship was part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) which was targeting the asteroid Dimorphos. The collision occurred just after midnight Irish time.
Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division said, "We're embarking on a new era, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous hazardous asteroid impact,".
DART mission planetary astronomer Christina Thomas said, "There's a lot of them, and it's incredibly exciting to have lost count," in relation to the massive number of telescopes monitoring the moment of impact, these included telescopes both on Earth and in space including optical, radio and radar.
This is a step in the right direction to protect Earth from an 'Armageddon' movie type scenario before the need arises.
The spaceship was part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) which was targeting the asteroid Dimorphos. The collision occurred just after midnight Irish time.
Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division said, "We're embarking on a new era, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous hazardous asteroid impact,".
DART mission planetary astronomer Christina Thomas said, "There's a lot of them, and it's incredibly exciting to have lost count," in relation to the massive number of telescopes monitoring the moment of impact, these included telescopes both on Earth and in space including optical, radio and radar.
This is a step in the right direction to protect Earth from an 'Armageddon' movie type scenario before the need arises.
