The NASA DART spacecraft – no larger than an average vending machine – successfully collided with the distant Dimorphos asteroid at hypersonic speed on Monday.
DART stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, and it was the world’s first planetary defence system test.
NASA DART mission
Doomsday test
The historic moment can be viewed below. And even though the impact is over, NASA says the hard work only begins now; the research continues.
WATCH: NASA’s DART spacecraft slamming into asteroid
The project aims to prevent a potential doomsday collision and “demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet”, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Nelson said the mission’s outcome is an “unprecedented success for planetary defence” while also being a “mission of unity with real benefit for all humanity”.
The research will enable NASA scientists to study not only the cosmos but our home planet as scientists work to protect our tiny home in the vast universe.
“This international collaboration turned science fiction into science fact, demonstrating one way to protect Earth”, Nelson concluded.
Asteroid Dimorphos
To be clear, neither the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos nor the larger asteroid it orbits – Didymos – poses a threat to Earth.
The asteroids merely served as a kinetic impact test to see if scientists could navigate a spacecraft to intentionally deflect an asteroid and prevent it from colliding with Earth.
“Now we know we can aim a spacecraft with the precision needed to impact even a small body in space. Just a small change in its speed is all we need,” said NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen.
Hera mission launches in 2026
Asteroids Dimorphos and Didymos are approximately 11 million kilometres from earth. The European Space Agency’s Hera will reach Didymos in 2026 to further study the impact.
Hera will launch in October 2024, and will be equipped with cameras, an altimetre to measure altitude and a spectrometre to measure spectral components.
It will also carry two nano-satellite CubeSats, called Milani and Juventas. The trajectory options for the CubeSats can be viewed here.
African CubeSats
Back in March 2022, SpaceX launched three South African nanosatellites onboard a Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Maritime Domain Awareness Satellite constellation (MDASat-1).
The MDASat-1 consisted of cube satellites developed entirely in Africa, to will detect, identify and monitor vessels in near real-time. Read more below:
INTERVIEW: Exciting times for SA space industry – Why the MDASat constellation matters
