HUMANITY 1, ASTEROID 0

NASA Successfully Smashes DART Spacecraft Into Football-Stadium Sized Asteroid Dimorphos

NASA was initially unsure whether its mission to divert a giant asteroid would be a success.

“History has been made,” NASA boasted after its vending machine-sized DART spacecraft successfully targeted and smashed into an asteroid in a “direct hit” during the first part of its “planetary defense test.” Nerves were high in the NASA control room as the spacecraft collided with the asteroid, known as Dimorphos, 6.8 million miles from Earth. Yet as confirmation arrived shortly after the 7:14 p.m. ET collision at 15,000 mph and the words “we have impact” rang out, scientists erupted into applause. NASA administrator Bill Nelson credited “years of hard work” after the successful impact, claiming, “I believe it’s going to teach us how to protect our planet one day… we are showing that planetary defense is a global endeavor and it is very possible to save our planet.” The first mission was to test current technology for defending Earth against potential asteroid or comet hazards, including humankind’s first-ever attempt at moving another astronomical object to discover if it is indeed a possible technique to divert an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. Dimorphos, the size of a football stadium, poses no threat to Earth. While NASA’s mission was initially successful, the process of moving the asteroid is ongoing. Over the next days and weeks, scientists will monitor and track its orbit, and study the impact. “The impact was just the beginning,” said Nancy Chabot, planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.