Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid – photos show the last moments of the successful DART mission
Published in Daily News Egypt on 28 - 09 - 2022

In a world first, NASA has crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid in an attempt to push the rocky traveler off its trajectory. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test – or DART – is meant to test one potential approach that could prevent an asteroid from colliding with Earth. David Barnhart is a professor of astronautics at the University of Southern California and director of the Space Engineering Research Center there. He watched NASA's live stream of the successful mission and explains what is known so far.
This video, sped up 10 times actual speed, shows a series of images taken one second apart by the DART spacecraft as it approached Didymos and the smaller Dimorphos before colliding with Dimorphos. The last few images are shown in real speed.
1. What do the images show?
The first images, taken by a camera aboard DART, show the double asteroid system of Didymos – about 2,500 feet (780 meters) in diameter – being orbited by the smaller asteroid Dimorphos that is about 525 feet (160 meters) long.
This image of the moonlet Dimorphos was taken 11 seconds before the DART spacecraft crashed into the asteroid. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
As the targeting algorithm on DART locked onto Dimorphos, the craft adjusted its flight and began heading towards the smaller of the two asteroids. The image taken at 11 seconds before impact and 42 miles (68 kilometers) from Dimorphos shows the asteroid centered in the camera's field of view. This meant that the targeting algorithm was fairly accurate and the craft would collide right at the center of Dimorphos.
This photo shows the textured and rock-strewn surface of Dimorphos and was taken two seconds before DART crashed into the surface. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
The second-to-last image, taken two seconds before impact shows the rocky surface of Dimorphos, including small shadows. These shadows are interesting because they suggest that the camera aboard the DART spacecraft was seeing Dimorphos directly on but the Sun was at an angle relative to the camera. They imply the DART spacecraft was centered on its trajectory to impact Dimorphos at the moment, but it's also possible the asteroid was slowly rotating relative to the camera.
The final image from DART, taken one second before impact, was not able to fully transmit back to Earth. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
The final photo, taken one second before impact, only shows the top slice of an image but this is incredibly exciting. The fact that NASA received only a part of the image implies that the shutter took the picture but DART, traveling at around 14,000 miles per hour (22,500 kilometers per hour) was unable to transmit the complete image before impact.
2. What was supposed to happen?
The point of the DART mission was to test whether it is possible to deflect an asteroid with a kinetic impact – by crashing something into it. NASA used the analogy of a golf cart hitting the side of an Egyptian pyramid to convey the relative difference in size between tiny DART and Dimorphos, the smaller of the two asteroids. Prior to the test, Dimorphos orbited Didymos in roughly 16 hours. NASA expects the impact to shorten Dimorphos' orbit by about 1%, or roughly 10 minutes. Though small, if done far enough away from Earth, a nudge like this could potentially deflect a future asteroid headed towards Earth just enough to prevent an impact.
3. What do we know already?
The last bits of data that came from the DART spacecraft right before impact show that it was on course. The fact that the images stopped transmitting after the target point was reached can only mean that the impact was a success.
While there is likely a lot of information to be learned from the images taken by DART, the world will have to wait to learn whether the deflection was also a success. Fifteen days before the impact, DART released a small satellite with a camera that was designed to document the entire impact. The small satellite's sensors should have taken images and collected information, but given that it doesn't have a large antenna onboard, the images will be transmitted slowly back to Earth, one by one, over the coming weeks.
The force from DART's impact should slightly shift the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
4. What does the test mean for planetary defense?
I believe this test was a great proof-of-concept for many technologies that the U.S. government has invested in over the years. And importantly, it proves that it is possible to send a craft to intercept with a minuscule target millions of miles away from Earth. From that standpoint DART has been a great success.
Over the course of the next months and years, researchers will learn just how much deflection the impact caused – and most importantly, whether this type of kinetic impact can actually move a celestial object ever so slightly at a great enough distance to prevent a future asteroid from threatening Earth.
David Barnhart, Professor of Astronautics, University of Southern California
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.


Clic here to read the story from its source.