Nasa reveals results of asteroid impact test as it works to protect Earth
carried out the final phase of its DART, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test, mission.The mission comprised smashing a spacecraft into an asteroid dubbed Dimorphos to change its trajectory.
Now, Nasa has finally revealed that the collision between its uncrewed craft and Dimorphos was a success."This is a watershed moment for planetary defense and a watershed moment for humanity," Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday at a press briefing. Nelson added that the mission "shows NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us."At that point, the space rock was about 7million miles from Earth and did not pose a threat to our planet.
"The impact was perfectly executed," said Megan Bruck Syal, the planetary defense project lead at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
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