A NASA is about to play a ship worth over US $ 300 million (R $ 1.5 billion) against a asteroid. The suicide test is part of the Dart mission (Double Asteroid Redirect Mission), of planetary defense, to see if we could dangerously deflect an asteroid towards Earth.
But there is no reason to worry. The asteroid in question, the small one Dimorphos (170 m wide), it is far from us and presents no risk. It’s just a testament to technology, which isn’t meant to destroy it, but to push it to change its orbit, like a cosmic pool game.
The spacecraft, launched in November last year, is already very close to its target. The impact should take place on the night of next Monday (26). The space agency will broadcast everything live; check the schedule:
18:30 – Live footage of the approach (Draco camera)
19h – NASA coverage begins (impact at 20:14)
The images promise to be spectacular. P.the art of them will be captured by the Draco camera, aboard Dart, and others by a small Italian satellite LICIACube, which separated from the spacecraft last week, and will survive the impact. Thus, the entire process will be recorded, including the impact crater that will be on the surface of the asteroid.
If all goes according to plan, we will see something unprecedented and that could be useful in the future, with some real threats.
Dimorphos acts as a moon, orbiting a larger asteroid, called Didymos (780m), in a binary system. If the test is successful, the orbit will change, but we won’t know how much until the next few months and years. Since both are gravitationally bound, there is no chance that the Dinomorphs will be launched into space.
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