Elon Musk likened NASA’s mission to alter the trajectory of an asteroid by smashing a spacecraft into it to the infamous Oscars slap in which Will Smith belted Chris Rock.
A NASA spacecraft rammed an asteroid at blistering speed on Monday in an unprecedented dress rehearsal for the day a killer rock menaces Earth.
The spacecraft known as DART — the acronym for Double Asteroid Redirection Test — was traveling at an estimated 14,000 mph when it collided with the asteroid some 7 million miles away from Earth.
In a cheeky response, the Tesla boss posted a meme superimposing NASA’s logo on Smith’s head as he delivers an open-handed blow to Rock’s face — which is meant to depict the space rock known as Dimorphos.
Scientists expected the impact to carve out a crater, hurl streams of rocks and dirt into space and, most importantly, alter the asteroid’s orbit.
“We have impact!” Mission Control’s Elena Adams announced, jumping up and down and thrusting her arms skyward.
Telescopes around the world and in space aimed at the same point in the sky to capture the spectacle.
Though the impact was immediately obvious — Dart’s radio signal abruptly ceased — it will take as long as a couple of months to determine how much the asteroid’s path was changed.
The $325 million is the first time ever that humans are attempting to shift the path of a natural celestial object in space.
“As far as we can tell, our first planetary defense test was a success,” Adams later told a news conference, the room filling with applause.
“I think Earthlings should sleep better. Definitely, I will.”
With Post wires
