NASA: The first images after the collision of Dart on the asteroid “Demorphos”

Her spaceship NASA fall on purpose asteroids To change course with the power of kinetic energy, during an unprecedented mission to teach humanity how to protect itself from potential An existential threat in the future to her.

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DART mission successfully collides with asteroids

The ‘Kamikaze boat’, slightly smaller than the car, fell at a speed that exceeded 20000 km Time on the asteroid, forecast time (at 02:14 Greek time).

NASA teams, who were at the mission control center in Marylandexplodes in cheers at the moment of impact.

A few minutes ago, the asteroid distortedAt a distance of about 11 million kilometers from Earth, it slowly began to grow in stunning images transmitted directly from the spacecraft’s camera. The irregular gray surface of the rocks was clearly visible.

“We are entering a new era in which we have the ability to protect ourselves from collisions with dangerous asteroids,” says Lori Glaze, director of planetary sciences at NASA.

Dimorphos has With a diameter of 160 meters It does not pose any danger to the planet. It is a satellite of a larger asteroid, which is Twins, and made a full spin around it so far in 11 hours and 55 minutes. NASA wants to reduce the orbit by 10 minutes, in other words, bring it closer to Gemini.

It will take days to weeks before scientists can confirm the asteroid’s path Already changed. They will do this thanks to telescopes on Earth, which will monitor the variation of the orbit of the smaller asteroid around the larger asteroid after the collision.

Although the goal is less exciting compared to sci-fi movie scenarios like Armageddon, this exercise “Planetary Defense”approved by DART (“arrow”, in English, an acronym for the term Double Asteroid Redirection Test) refers to first test of this technique. Allows NASA to rehearse in case an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth.

The boat traveled to about ten months, after its release from California. To hit a target as small as a deformed, the last stage of his journey was fully automated, as if it were self-guided missile.

Three minutes after the collision, a small satellite the size of a shoebox was launched LICIACube Released from the craft before impact, it was scheduled to pass within 55 kilometers of the asteroid to collect images.

The project was also to be observed by space telescopes Hubble And the James Webbwho had to locate the dust cloud so that the amount of ejected matter could be calculated.

It will also allow for a better understanding of the composition of the Dimorph, which represents frequently occurring asteroids, and thus assess the effectiveness of the method.

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european boat Hirawhich is expected to be released 2024We will take a closer look at Demorphos in 2026, to assess the impacts of the impact and measure the mass of the asteroid for the first time.

Asteroids have been surprises to scientists in the past. In 2020, the American ship Osiris Rex The asteroid Bennu has penetrated deeper than expected. The exact structure of dimorphos is not yet known.

“If the asteroid interacts with the DART impact in a completely unexpected way, this could lead us to reconsider whether kinetic impact is a technology that could have a general application,” said Tom Statler, the mission’s chief scientific officer.

66 million years ago, the dinosaurs were wiped out by the collision of an asteroid 10 km in size.

approx 30,000 asteroids of every size has been indexed (relatively) close to the ground. Today, none of the known asteroids threatens our planet, at least for the next 100 years. What has not been registered yet.

Scientists say that one kilometer in size has now been roughly recorded. But they add that it’s not even registered 40% of asteroids 140 meters or more, which could cause destruction in large areas.

“Our most important task is to find ‘the ones that have not been discovered,'” said Lindley Johnson, a planetary defense specialist at NASA. And the earlier they are found, the more time experts will need to develop a defense plan.

Johnson explains that the DART trial is a critical first step in this direction. “It’s a period of great excitement (…) for space history and even for human history.”