In just a few hours, NASA DART will collide with an Asteroid
September 27, 2022 By Saloni Behl
(Image Credit Google)
The system that
NASA hopes will shield the Earth from the hazards posed by collisions from massive asteroids will undergo its first real-world test on Monday. At 7:14 p.m. EDT, a spacecraft engaged in the Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART, will collide with the small asteroid Dimorphos to change Dimorphos' orbit around the nearby giant asteroid Didymos. If successful, we expect to change the trajectories of small objects that threaten to strike Earth, moving them onto orbits where there is no longer a chance of a catastrophic collision.
There are still potential problems. For example, the final trajectory to impact will be managed by its onboard software rather than controllers on Earth, as we previously explained, and the DART camera will be able to resolve its target less than two hours before the collision.
Expect updates today as
NASA will hold press briefings before and after the impact. Ars will be there. As one alternative, you can watch NASA TV's coverage, which will begin at 6 p.m. EST.
If that's too quick for you, you can watch a webcast of photographs taken by the spacecraft's DRACO camera at a leisurely one frame per second 30 minutes later. Finally, in the last snapshot before impact, you can anticipate seeing things on the asteroid's surface that are less than a meter across; these are the photos the onboard navigation system will use to navigate to its target.
By Saloni Behl
I always had a crush on technology that\'s why I love reviewing the latest tech for the readers.