NASA developed a spacecraft that features an advanced protocol against an unusual threat. Although it is not made for warfare, this astronomical defense vessel is specialized to deflect its target. The spacecraft is not the usual capsules or space vehicle that are launched for research and commercial purposes, as it is equipped with an effective technique that will be utilized for initiating a defensive method against asteroids that are most likely to hit Earth.
According to Eminetra, there are currently over 27,000 space rocks that hover in the neighboring space of our planet. Although these asteroids form and exist naturally throughout the galaxy, there is a chance that the materials could inflict damage to Earth and its inhabitants. To prevent the same demise that the prehistoric dinosaurs experienced, the scientists created a structure that could head off to a high-risk asteroid and divert its direction to another path besides our planet.
DART: Double Asteroid Redirection Test
The project of developing the planetary defense spacecraft was made possible through the efforts of NASA and Johns Hopkins APL scientists. The vessel is known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART, which sits on California's Vandenberg Space Force Base and is expected to make its first-ever launch on November 24.
The debut will serve as DART's initial presentation and a study for NASA to prove that space rock deflection is possible. After its launch, DART will go straight to a moonlet that orbits near the 780-meter binary asteroid called 65803 Didymos. The main objective of the planetary defense mission was to examine the data and gather substantial information about diverting asteroids out of the track that leads to Earth.
The new DART mission will be first tested to the companion of Didymos known as the Dimorphos. It will be crashed into the moonlet and let all of its 550-kilogram weight attached to the body before doing a calculation and conducting a maneuver out of its initial direction. Both Didymos and Dimorphos are known to be part of a wider asteroid group lurking just outside the Earth's revolutionary perimeter. The two asteroids are categorized as S-type and scale to more than 2,5000 feet.
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DART and the Dangers of Near-Earth Type-S Asteroids
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory planetary expert Nancy Chabot said in a report by Space that the presence of near-Earth asteroids is a common issue among the astronomical community. The cosmic bodies are already considered potential hazards to our planet, and there have been numerous studies dedicated to the matter.
DART will observe many aspects of asteroid propulsions and conduct the first and only attempt to repel an asteroid in the history of scientific studies. The data harnessed from the mission would be the foundation of further examinations that will improve our response against the unwanted threats hovering in the space.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 was the selected rocket to lift DART to space. According to NASA's DART report, the spacecraft will launch between November 24 and February 12. However, the flexible time would not affect the interval of the mission, and DART will still return to Earth in September of the next year.
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