NASA spacecraft on course to smash into asteroid at 15,000mph NEXT MONTH:

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NASA spacecraft on course to smash into asteroid at 15,000mph NEXT MONTH:

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NASA spacecraft on course to smash into asteroid at 15,000mph NEXT MONTH: Space rock Didymos is perfectly aligned for DART to collide with its 'moonlet' Dimorphos in late September
DART spacecraft is on course to smash into asteroid at 15,000mph next month
NASA's 'planetary defence' craft was launched from Earth in November last year
Its aim is to deflect the asteroid Dimorphos, which is 6.8 million miles from Earth
Telescopes confirm orbit calculations for Didymos and its 'moonlet' Dimorphos
By SAM TONKIN FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 17:16 BST, 29 August 2022

NASA's first ever 'planetary defence' spacecraft – sent to deflect an asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth – is on course to smash into the space rock at 15,000mph next month.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was launched last November ahead of an almost year-long journey to crash into the small asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger one called Didymos. Six nights of observations by two powerful telescopes have now confirmed that the orbit of Didymos is perfectly aligned for the US space agency's $325 million (£240 million) DART craft

These observations confirmed earlier orbit calculations from 2021.

They were carried out in July by the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona and the Magellan Telescope in Chile.

'The measurements the team made in early 2021 were critical for making sure that DART arrived at the right place and the right time for its kinetic impact into Dimorphos,' said Andy Rivkin, the DART investigation team co-lead at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.

'Confirming those measurements with new observations shows us that we don't need any course changes and we're already right on target.'
Knipsel.JPG
Didymos and Dimorphos will make their closest approach to Earth in years in late September, passing at a distance of about 6.7 million miles (10.8 million kilometres) from the planet.

When the 1,210lb space probe hits Dimorphos, the plan is for it to change the speed of the 'moonlet' by a fraction of a per cent.

Although the 525ft-wide space rock doesn't pose a danger to Earth, NASA wants to measure the asteroid's altered orbit caused by the collision.

This demonstration of 'planetary defence' will inform future missions that could one day save Earth from a deadly asteroid impact.

'This isn't going to destroy the asteroid. It's just going to give it a small nudge,' said mission official Nancy Chabot of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which is managing the project.

Dimorphos completes an orbit around Didymos every 11 hours and 55 minutes 'just like clockwork', she added.

DART's goal is a crash that will slow Dimorphos down and cause it to fall closer toward the bigger asteroid, shaving 10 minutes off its orbit.

The change in the orbital period will be measured by telescopes on Earth. The minimum change for the mission to be considered a success is 73 seconds.

The DART technique could prove useful for altering the course of an asteroid years or decades before it bears down on Earth with the potential for catastrophe.

WHAT IS THE NASA DART MISSION?
DART will be the world's first planetary defence test mission.

It is heading for the small moonlet asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger companion asteroid called Didymos.

When it gets there it will be intentionally crashing into the asteroid to slightly change its orbit.

While neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth, DART's kinetic impact will prove that a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a target asteroid and kinetically impact it.

Then, using Earth-based telescopes to measure the effects of the impact on the asteroid system, the mission will enhance modeling and predictive capabilities to help us better prepare for an actual asteroid threat should one ever be discovered.
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