D.A.R.T Aims Itself at Asteroid as part of Earth-Defence Mission

BRIAN: A NASA spacecraft has successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, part of the D.A.R.T or Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission. The $324.5 million dollar project was the first planetary defence strategy tested in human history, suggesting there may yet be things worth saving on our home planet. INN sourced these stunning renderings of the impact as it would have looked from outer space.

“The $324.5 million dollar project was the first planetary defence strategy tested in human history, suggesting there may yet be things worth saving on our home planet”.

It was the first time over $160mil dollars was crashed into a celestial body since 1999’s Mars Polar Lander and it’s state-of-the-art explorative technology – however, the extra $160mil spent on DART which carried no scientific payload, has paid off, slamming head-first into the asteroid and shortening its orbit by 32 minutes, slightly more than the 73sec change anticipated.

And while Dimorphos posed no immediate threat to life, it is hoped that results from DART will inspire new thinking on the effect US military strikes have on innocent bodies here on Earth. No such discussions have been confirmed to date.