The first photos from the DART probe, which is to save us from extinction

DART mission started at the end of November. The probe was launched into space on top of a Falcon-9 rocket from SpaceX in California. So far, the whole project has been going well. NASA announced that the vehicle is heading towards its target, the asteroid Didymos and her moon Dimoprhos. This is what the probe is to hit in October 2022.

Scientists have published the first images taken by the camera DRACO (Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation), which will be used for space orientation and navigation. In the pictures we can see, among others Messier 38, i.e. the open cluster in the constellation Woźnica.

In October 2022, the asteroid Didymos will be approximately 11 million kilometers from Earth. This distance is more than 30 times the distance from Earth to the Moon. So, theoretically, we will be safe, but it will change in the future. The poll is supposed to make the first ever kinetic shock into space rock. The entire event will be closely watched by a vehicle owned by the European Space Agency, which will send images and data directly to Earth.

Scientists hope to gain valuable information about the asteroid itself and, on this basis, develop the first technologies that will allow us to protect ourselves from the impact of cosmic rocks. Interestingly, NASA recently announced that such objects can be used neutralize with nuclear weapons. It is not about breaking them down into small pieces, because it is impossible, but rather changing their flight trajectory.

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