The DART probe, launched by the United States last November, collided with the asteroid Dimorph as part of a scientific experiment to change the orbit of a binary asteroid.
The contact took place at 19:15 US East Coast time (at 02:15 Moscow time on September 27). At the time of the collision, the probe was moving at a speed of about 24,000 kilometers per hour.
This is the first test in the history of planet Earth to protect the Earth from potentially dangerous space objects.
The collision was broadcast on the NASA website.
Asteroid Dimorph does not pose a threat to planet Earth. As a result of the impact of the probe, the asteroid’s orbit should deviate “by a fraction of a percent.” The purpose of the experiment is to work out a technique with the help of which in the future it would be possible to change the trajectory of space objects dangerous for the Earth.
The head of NASA, Bill Nelson, said that the results of a scientific experiment “will allow us to understand how to protect the planet from an approaching asteroid in the future.”