NASA’s probe is scheduled to collide with asteroids on September 26

The space agency has been dealing with this for many years. For example, scientists considered an asteroid impact about 66 million years ago to be the leading theory for the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. Scientists do not currently know which asteroid could head straight to Earth in the foreseeable future
– But researchers have about 27,000 asteroids near our planet
Planets larger than 140 meters in diameter have been identified.

The “DART” probe, which was launched in November from California with the help of a “Falcon 9” rocket, was on its way to its target about ten months ago. “Demomorphos asteroid: We’ll get you,” NASA wrote on Twitter shortly after its launch. According to NASA, the probe will only be able to target Demorphos with its camera about an hour and a half before the collision. Orienting the flying object precisely toward the asteroid “is a huge challenge,” said NASA Administrator Evan Smith.

With a diameter of about 160 meters, it is a type of moon from the largest asteroid Didymos. The mission is designed so that both asteroids pose no danger even after a collision with the probe, which has only one camera on board.

After the collision, Demorphos’ orbit of approximately 12 hours is expected to be at least 73 seconds shorter and possibly up to 10 minutes shorter. For scientists, the real work begins next: investigating what exactly happened before, during, and after the impact — and what that might mean to protect Earth. In 2024, the ESA “Hera” mission is scheduled to begin for a more detailed investigation.

NASA Administrator Andrea Riley confirmed that the DART is a “test mission.” “Even if we don’t score, we’ll still be able to collect a lot of data. That’s why we’re testing. We want to do it now and not when there’s a real problem.”