NASA launched a spacecraft into an asteroid for the sake of experiment
The DART unmanned aerial vehicle launched into space on November 24, 2021. He was supposed to change the trajectory of the asteroid Dimoforce.
The launch of the ship was made by NASA to test whether the drone can deflect the course of a space object that could potentially fly to Earth. As a result, DART was able to reach the goal on September 26th.
DART is an unmanned vehicle that looks like an ordinary satellite with characteristic photocells. Its dimensions are 1.2×1.3×1.3 m, the length of each solar panel is 8.5 m. The total mass of the ship is 590 kg. During a collision with an asteroid, the device accelerated to a speed of 22,000 km / h with an estimated impact force of 12,980,000 kg. The space agency broadcast video from a DART camera called DRACO with a signal delay of 45 seconds. The moment of the collision was posted online.
The asteroid Dimorphos was discovered almost twenty years ago, in 2003. The diameter of the space object is 160 kg, nothing is known about its composition. It is too early to say anything about the results of the experiment, since NASA will need time to track changes in the asteroid's trajectory. If successful in the long term, researchers will be able to “push” such objects away from their original course in advance so that they do not fall on our planet.
The launch of the ship was made by NASA to test whether the drone can deflect the course of a space object that could potentially fly to Earth. As a result, DART was able to reach the goal on September 26th.
DART is an unmanned vehicle that looks like an ordinary satellite with characteristic photocells. Its dimensions are 1.2×1.3×1.3 m, the length of each solar panel is 8.5 m. The total mass of the ship is 590 kg. During a collision with an asteroid, the device accelerated to a speed of 22,000 km / h with an estimated impact force of 12,980,000 kg. The space agency broadcast video from a DART camera called DRACO with a signal delay of 45 seconds. The moment of the collision was posted online.
The asteroid Dimorphos was discovered almost twenty years ago, in 2003. The diameter of the space object is 160 kg, nothing is known about its composition. It is too early to say anything about the results of the experiment, since NASA will need time to track changes in the asteroid's trajectory. If successful in the long term, researchers will be able to “push” such objects away from their original course in advance so that they do not fall on our planet.
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