NASA’s Mission: Protect the Planet from Asteroids

Teresa Jones ‘24

The end of the world is something lots of people think about. A small number of those people actually prepare for the end of the world; items like underground bunkers and emergency food supplies are becoming increasingly common. Some of the academics at NASA are doing more than just preparing for the end of the world—they’re trying to stop it. 

 

On November 24, 2021 NASA launched their DART mission to test their asteroid defense system. The purpose of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (NASA loves their acronyms) is to see how launching a spacecraft into an asteroid impacts its trajectory. 

 

The asteroid in question is called Dimorphous and is a small moonlet asteroid. It has a diameter of 525 feet and is moving at 150,000 mph [1]. If all goes as planned, the spacecraft will collide with Dimorphous in September of 2022. The collision will happen approximately 6.8 million miles away from Earth and will be live-streamed back to NASA headquarters until the spacecraft is destroyed on impact. Ten days prior to the collision, DART will release a small observation spacecraft that will be able to record the collision and the material that is ejected afterward. The collision will also be monitored from telescopes on earth. 

 

In an intereview with NPR, Mission Director Nancy Chabot explained, “This isn’t going to destroy the asteroid. It’s just going to give it a small nudge” [2]. In her words, a small nudge would be enough to alter an asteroid’s trajectory and eliminate any possible threat to earth. Dimorphous is not a direct threat to Earth, but rather a way for scientists to test the new DART technology. 

 

The DART mission marks a turning point for NASA who have traditionally not been in charge of protecting the country or the world from threats. In 2005, Congress charged NASA with the responsibility to protect the planet from dangerous objects that orbit the sun and have the bad habit of occasionally crossing paths with our world. The DART mission proves NASA is taking this responsibility seriously. 

 

If DART is successful, it will give NASA its first tool in its planetary defense toolbox, hopefully supplying some peace of mind to the doomsday planners! 

 

[1] https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/dart 

[2]https://www.npr.org/2021/11/24/1058786230/nasa-launches-spacecraft-to-test-asteroid-defense-concept 

[3]https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/science/nasa-dart-mission-asteroid.html?auth=login-google