A NASA spacecraft has intentionally slammed into an asteroid. The agency's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) probe carried out the maneuver on a small space rock known as Dimorphos, about 11 million km from Earth.
The DART mission aims to shift an asteroid's orbit through kinetic impact, in order to test and validate a method to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat, according to NASA.
As part of NASA's larger planetary defense strategy, DART will simultaneously test new technologies and provide important data to enhance modeling and predictive capabilities to better prepare for an asteroid that might pose a threat to Earth, should one be discovered, said NASA.
NASA's DART spacecraft successfully slammed into a distant asteroid at hypersonic speed on Monday in the world's first test of a planetary defense system, designed to prevent a potential doomsday meteorite collision with Earth.
DART flew directly into Dimorphos at 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph), creating the force scientists hope will be enough to shift its orbital track closer to the parent asteroid.
“We’re embarking on a new era of humankind, an era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous, hazardous asteroid impact,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. “What an amazing thing. We’ve never had that capability before.”
据美联社报道,执行该任务的飞船于去年秋季发射,也标志着价值3.25亿美元行星防御测试的开始。
The $325 million planetary defense test began with Dart’s launch last fall.
While some of the sci-fi films are more accurate than others, NASA’s planetary defense officer, Lindley Johnson noted, entertainment always wins out. The good news is that the coast seems clear for the next century, with no known threats.
Not by blowing up an asteroid as Willis’ character did — that would be a last, last-minute resort — or by begging government leaders to take action as DiCaprio’s character did in vain. If time allows, the best tactic could be to nudge the menacing asteroid out of our way, like Dart.
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