For the first time ever, NASA has completed what it calls a “Planetary Defense” exercise. On Monday, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully smashed into the asteroid Demorphos in an attempt to change its course in space. A relatively small asteroid (only 530 feet in diameter) is what astronomers call a moon. Demorphos orbits a much larger asteroid, Didymus, about seven million miles from Earth.
The best part of it all? NASA made sure to take pictures to affect the camera. See for yourself below.
Don’t want to miss anything? Watch the last moments of #DARTMission On the course of its collision with the asteroid Deimpurvos. pic.twitter.com/2qbVMnqQrD
– NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022
“At its core, DART represents an unprecedented success for planetary defense, but it is also a unit mission of real benefit to all of humanity,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release. “While NASA studies the universe and our planet, we are also working to protect this homeland, and this international collaboration has turned science fiction into science fact, showing one way to protect the Earth.”
While none of the asteroids poses a threat to Earth, scientists say testing was necessary to prepare for potential threats. In the coming days and weeks, the DART investigation team will use ground-based observatories to measure the impact of the craft on the asteroid’s path, if any.
“Planetary defense is a unified global effort that affects every person living on Earth,” added Thomas Zurbuchen, associate director of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We now know that we can steer a spacecraft with the precision needed to impact even a small object in space. Just a small change in its speed is all that is needed to make a big difference in the path the asteroid takes.”
In total, DART traveled through space for 10 months to reach its goal.
“The success of DART provides an important addition to the suite of essential tools we must have to protect Earth from the devastating impact of an asteroid,” said Lindley Johnson, NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer. “This shows that we are no longer powerless to prevent this type of natural disaster. Combined with improved capabilities to expedite the finding of the remaining hazardous asteroid group with our upcoming planetary defense mission, the Near Earth Object Survey (NEO), which the successor to DART can provide We need him to save the day.”
For more images from the Webb Space Telescope and other cosmic stories, check out the ComicBook Invasion Center here.
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