spacecraft: top related news

NASA is ready to make an attempt to deflect an asteroid via Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on September 26. The process would involve crashing a 500kg spacecraft into an ateroid moonlet. The binary asteroid system conists of Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos. The ateroid mission is to change their trajectory. DART will re-route the asteroid by using kinetic impact. The spacecraft is designed to smash into the smaller member of the binary asteroid system. It's a part of NASA's larger planetary defence strategy to safeguard Earth in case of an asteroid that is actually posing threat to Earth. As per the report, DART will arrive at the asteroid on September 26 and will crash into Dimorphos at about 15,000 miles per hour. NASA says, "On Sept. 26, DART will intentionally crash into Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet of Didymos. While the asteroid poses no threat to Earth, this is the world's first test of the kinetic impact technique, using a spacecraft to deflect an asteroid for planetary defense." Know where you can watch it online.