NASA DART mission live: Spacecraft to smash into target asteroid today
You might wonder what would happen if any of the asteroids which frequently fly past Earth at close distance, actually hit the planet some day. Well, NASA has already made preparations for that. NASA is readying itself to potentially defend the planet against a very similar threat that is posed by rogue asteroids. A NASA mission has been in the works for a long time to deflect an asteroid off its collision course with Earth by smashing a spacecraft into it. The mission is named Double Asteroid Detection Test or DART, which is all set to take place today and you can watch the NASA DART mission live.
The DART mission had sent the main spacecraft to space in November, 2021. It includes a satellite made by the Italian Space Agency. Another spacecraft is set to launch by 2026, to measure the impact. Speaking about the DART Mission, NASA said, “DART is the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid's motion in space through kinetic impact.”
This test will help scientists gain greater knowledge as to what happens when a craft is crashed against a space rock. This knowledge will be used if an actual asteroid threatens to crash against the Earth.
After the collision, the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft will fly to the asteroid to survey the aftermath of impact and gather information such as the size of impact crater, the mass of the asteroid and its make-up and internal structure.
DART Mission's first planetary defense test is set to take place today, September 26 at 7:14 p.m. EDT or 4:44 a.m. IST when the spacecraft will impact the target asteroid. The live coverage of the event will begin at 6:00 p.m. EDT or 3:30 a.m. IST. You can watch the DART
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