<
https://theconversation.com/nasa-is-crashing-a-spacecraft-into-an-asteroid-to-test-a-plan-that-could-one-day-save-earth-from-catastrophe-190888>
"On Sept. 26, 2022, NASA plans to change an asteroid’s orbit.
The large binary asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos currently pose no
threat to Earth. But by crashing a 1,340-pound (610-kilogram) probe into
Didymos’ moon at a speed of approximately 14,000 mph (22,500 kph), NASA is
going to complete the world’s first full-scale planetary defense mission as a
proof of concept. This mission is called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test,
or DART.
I am a scholar who studies space and international security, and it is my job
to ask what the likelihood really is of an object crashing into the planet –
and whether governments are spending enough money to prevent such an event.
To find the answers to these questions, one has to know what near-Earth objects
are out there. To date, NASA has tracked only an estimated 40% of the bigger
ones. Surprise asteroids have visited Earth in the past and will undoubtedly do
so in the future. Experiments like the DART mission may help prepare humanity
for such an event."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
