So NASA is getting ready to try and change the part of an asteroid in a test that is I guess proof of concept that could be used in the future for one that looks to be heading to earth.
NASA's DART mission is set to launch and deliberately crash into an asteroid's moon - CNN
Now let's just hope nothing goes wrong next September when it reaches the asteroid and actually changes the path to head towards the earth!
But the true test for this asteroid deflection technology will come in September 2022, when the spacecraft reaches its destination, to see how it impacts the motion of a near-Earth asteroid in space.
The mission target is Dimorphos, a small moon orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. This will be the agency's first full-scale demonstration of this type of technology on behalf of planetary defense. It also will be the first time humans have altered the dynamics of a solar system body in a measurable way, according to the European Space Agency.
Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets with orbits that place them within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of Earth. Detecting the threat of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, that could potentially cause grave harm is a primary focus of NASA and other space organizations around the world.
NASA's DART mission is set to launch and deliberately crash into an asteroid's moon - CNN
Now let's just hope nothing goes wrong next September when it reaches the asteroid and actually changes the path to head towards the earth!
But the true test for this asteroid deflection technology will come in September 2022, when the spacecraft reaches its destination, to see how it impacts the motion of a near-Earth asteroid in space.
The mission target is Dimorphos, a small moon orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. This will be the agency's first full-scale demonstration of this type of technology on behalf of planetary defense. It also will be the first time humans have altered the dynamics of a solar system body in a measurable way, according to the European Space Agency.
Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets with orbits that place them within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of Earth. Detecting the threat of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, that could potentially cause grave harm is a primary focus of NASA and other space organizations around the world.
