
Earth Defense: NASA launches satellite to crash into asteroid
The American Space Agency (NASA) has launched a satellite designed to collide with an asteroid in order to change its direction. This testing is being done to see if the strategy will work if needed.
NASA’s DART mission aims to highlight how difficult it is to prevent a large space rock from colliding with planet Earth, REL reports. As part of the mission, the satellite will collide with the asteroid called Dimorphos, to understand how quickly its direction can be changed. This collision is expected to take place in October 2022.
“Asteroid Dimorphos, we’re coming at you,” NASA said in a tweet after the launch. This mission is carried out with the Falcon 9 spacecraft, manufactured by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. The spacecraft launched into space in the early hours of the morning from California.
“We’re trying to learn how to avoid a threat,” said NASA scientist Thomas Zuburchen, commenting on the $330 million project, the first of its kind.
Dimorphos is an asteroid that, according to NASA, does not pose a threat to Earth. According to this Agency, this mission does not endanger planet Earth.
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