Using a spacecraft to hit humans for the first time successfully changes the orbit of an asteroid | NASA | Dart | Dimorphos

[Epoch Times, October 14, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Tuesday (October 11) that its “doubleasteroidThe Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully redirected an asteroid millions of miles away.

This is the first time humans have purposefully altered the motion of a celestial body, and the first full-scale displayasteroiddeflection technology. DART spacecraft hits asteroid “DimoversThe kinetic impact shortened the asteroid’s orbit around its parent planet, Didymos, by 32 minutes, the scientists found in a two-week follow-up analysis after Dimorphos.

Before this, the diameter of about 170 metersDimoversThe orbital period of Didymos, which is 780 meters in diameter, is 11 hours and 55 minutes.

The uncertainty margin for this measurement is about plus or minus two minutes.

Astronomers use telescopes—including the Hubble Space Telescope—to measure how much its cycle time varies. The minimum requirement for a successful DART mission, according to NASA’s metrics, is a 73-second change in the orbital period of the target asteroid Deimos.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called it a “watershed moment for the planetary defense mission.” “We all have a responsibility to protect our planet, which is our only home after all… This mission shows that NASA is working hard to prepare for whatever the universe throws at us,” he said.

Neither Deimos nor Didymus pose any danger to Earth following a controlled collision of DART with Deimos.

Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said the current observations are an important step in understanding the impact of the DART spacecraft impact. With the new data, astronomers can better assess how similar techniques can deflect an asteroid’s orbit to protect Earth from its impact.

NASA said the focus now is to turn to measuring the efficiency of momentum transfer during DART’s roughly 14,000-mile-per-hour impact, including further analysis of the impact “ejectors.”

This image released by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope on October 8, 2022 shows the asteroid Dimorphos being captured by NASA’s DART on September 26 The spacecraft intentionally collided. Scientists are continuing to track it to better understand the asteroid. (NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble)

The DART spacecraft launched last year. It was built and operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and managed the mission by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

Responsible editor: Li Yuan#