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The mission DART is an attempt by the US space agency (NASA) to do a test run to take all necessary measures so that humanity is prepared for a possible asteroid threat. 2z6c6x
In practice, the probe NASA will collide with an asteroid 163 meters in diameter with the purpose of delaying its orbit. Understand how this will be done in practice right now.
Data from the asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos 3g2q5l
Discovered on April 11, 1996 by researcher Spacewatch's Joseph Montani No. Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, the asteroid Didymus measures 780 meters in diameter and has a “little brother”: the Dimorphous, with a diameter of 163 meters. Scientists know that Didymus is 11 million kilometers from Earth.
Both present no danger to Earth at the moment, but the US space agency wants to prepare so that, if necessary, the entire course of action is ready and humanity does not suffer from the impact of an asteroid of this magnitude. Didymus Means "twin" in Greek.
Can be defined as an action of “target shooting in space”, the mission DART is rather simple: NASA will fire the (unmanned) space probe towards the asteroid Dimorphous with the purpose of shortening the time it takes to go around Didymos. The construction cost for the probe was $250 million and yes, it will be sent directly to be destroyed and change the course of the orbit of the Earth. Dimorphous.
It's not every day that scientists manage to destroy a $250 million spacecraft.
Elena Adams, systems engineer for the DART mission at the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Scientists expect this impact to delay completion of the orbit by a few minutes, extra time that should help with observation and measurement of the asteroid by Earth observatories. According to official data, the Dimorphous it takes 11.9 hours to complete its full orbit.
The DART space probe 385769
Launched on November 24, 2021, the NASA used the rocket SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, as a first step in the mission DART (acronym for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, which can be translated as Double Asteroid Redirection Test).
The object is controlled remotely from Earth and, in total, 44 people will carry out the monitoring to know how the impact should happen. Scientists will only be able to see the smaller celestial body when the space probe is an hour away.
They also know that it will only be possible to see one pixel of the 163-meter asteroid, but that must be necessary for the navigation system to track the asteroid. Dimorphous instead of the larger asteroid. Two and a half minutes before impact, everything will shut down and specialists will take pictures for later studies.
Let's just point the camera and take the most amazing pictures of this asteroid that we will see for the first time.
Elena Adams, systems engineer for the DART mission at the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
In addition to the live broadcast, the camera installed on the mission probe DART will send photos at the last minute before the collision happens. The little Italian spaceship LICIACube (Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging Asteroids) was launched with the NASA spacecraft and broke up on September 11, 2022.
According to the US space agency, this vehicle will fly for three minutes around the asteroid. Dimorphous after impact and it will be possible to see the other side of the smaller asteroid, something that would never be possible with a larger spacecraft.
Mission DART is preparation for the future 2s4g29
The idea of NASA experts is that a system to protect the Earth against a possible asteroid collision will be developed in a maximum of 30 years. Currently, no celestial bodies have been detected heading towards Earth, but with the knowledge gained now, the development of a new space probe could be completed in a maximum of two years. This is a "a very short time for the paces of the space industry“, Says Ian Carnelli, head of the project.
The mission has two parts: after the collision, scientists will begin to observe how the asteroid will make its orbit around the Earth. Didymus, with the “push” of the NASA space probe. This should help create a protective process for Earth and what should be done when a real threat exists.
It's as if you dropped your wristwatch and damaged it. It won't necessarily be the same time. You might not notice it right away, but in the weeks and days and weeks that follow, you'll notice that your clock is running faster – and we've noticed that the binary asteroid system is running fast.
Tom Statler, DART program scientist.
NASA probe collision will be broadcast live 3l11l
The US space agency will broadcast live on its channel on YouTube so astronomy fans can follow the impact in real time. Just come back to this page from 19:26 by Brasília time today (20) and follow the process live through the live below. The predicted collision is at 14:XNUMX.
Live broadcasts on NASA website, page on Facebook e Twitter are also scheduled to take place. Be sure to follow all the details!
What do you expect from the mission? tell us Comment!
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