Nasa tests planetary defence with asteroid crash
Artwork: Dart's navigation system first had to distinguish the smaller rock from the larger one
More than two dozen telescopes on Earth will make precise measurements of the two-rock, or binary, system. "This technique, called the 'kinetic impactor technique' could be used if there were to be an asteroid that was incoming at some point in the future. It's a very simple idea: you ram the spacecraft into the object you're worried about, and you use the mass and the speed of your spacecraft to slightly change the orbit of that object enough so that it would miss the Earth instead of hitting the Earth.
"An analogy is if you're wearing a wristwatch and you damage it, and it starts running fast by a little bit," explained Dart mission scientist Dr Nancy Chabot, also from JHU-APL. "You might not notice the error in the first day or two, but after a few weeks you will begin to notice that the watch is just not keeping correct time anymore. It's running fast; it's ahead of where it should be.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nasa Dart probe to smash into asteroid at 14,000mph in first ever Earth defence testNasa’s £300m Dart spacecraft will smash into an asteroid later tonight in the first ever test of its kind
Read more »
Nasa spacecraft lining up to smash into an asteroidThe Dart mission will test a technique for defending the Earth against hazardous space rocks.
Read more »
Why is NASA crashing a spacecraft into a harmless asteroid at 14,000mph?It has been 66 million years since an asteroid crashing into the Earth brought an end to the reign of the dinosaurs, scientists says, and they are keen to avoid a similar ending for humanity.
Read more »
Nasa spacecraft lining up to smash into an asteroidThe Dart mission will test a technique for defending the Earth against hazardous space rocks.
Read more »
Nasa Dart probe to smash into asteroid at 14,000mph in first ever Earth defence testNasa’s £300m Dart spacecraft will smash into an asteroid later tonight in the first ever test of its kind
Read more »
Why Nasa is slamming a £300m spacecraft into an asteroid 7 million miles from EarthWhy is Nasa slamming a £300m spacecraft into an asteroid 7 million miles from Earth? 🔎 BawdenTom explains:
Read more »