NASA is about to crash a spacecraft into an asteroid. Here's why the mission could one day save humanity.

[Scott]

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will help determine if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is an effective way to change its course.NASA/Johns Hopkins, APL/Steve Gribben

 

The mission, known as DART, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, will attempt a method of planetary defense that could save Earth from an asteroid on a potential collision course with the planet. It's a rare opportunity to conduct a real-world experiment on an asteroid that doesn't pose a threat to Earth, said Bruce Betts, the chief scientist at the Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization that conducts research, advocacy and outreach to promote space exploration.

 

Betts called the DART mission "a big step forward for humanity," saying it will not only help scientists assess one of the most popular ideas for planetary defense but also provide an exciting way to raise awareness about the need to plan ahead for such circumstances.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-crash-spacecraft-asteroid-mission-one-day-humanity-rcna48918

 

 

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

For the nerds amongst us.

 

The space craft weighed 570kg and immediately before impact was traveling at a velocity of 24,000km/hr.

 

KE=(mass x velocity^2)/2

 

It therefore had a kinetic energy of 12,700 MJ.

 

To put this in perspective.

 

An Olympic swimming pool contains 2500 cubic meters of water at a standard 25DegC.

 

12,700 MJ is enough to raise the temperature in 16 Olympic sized swimming pools from 25C to boiling point.

 

 

[frantick]

5 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

For the nerds amongst us.

 

The space craft weighed 570kg and immediately before impact was traveling at a velocity of 24,000km/hr.

 

KE=(mass x velocity^2)/2

 

It therefore had a kinetic energy of 12,700 MJ.

 

To put this in perspective.

 

An Olympic swimming pool contains 2500 cubic meters of water at a standard 25DegC.

 

12,700 MJ is enough to raise the temperature in 16 Olympic sized swimming pools from 25C to boiling point.

 

 

So don't go swimming on Dimorphos? ????

[Chomper Higgot]

Now let’s get really nerdy.

 

The spacecraft imparted all of its kinetic energy into the asteroid in the time it took the spacecraft to ‘flatten’ as it hit the surface.

 

A velocity of 24,000 km per hour is 6,667 meters per second.

 

And if we assume the spacecraft was 3 meters long then at the moment of collision it imparted all of its energy to the asteroid in

 

(1/6,667) * 3 = 450 micro seconds.

 

Which is the amount of time it takes sound to travel just over half a meter at sea level.

 

Put another way.

 

if you were swimming in one of those 16 Olympic size pools with your favorite Aseannow protagonist  and he was more than half a meter away (or I was wisely standing on the pool side) when he shouted ‘get out of the water’, you’d be boiled alive before you heard his  warning.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by Chomper Higgot

[farmerjo]

Very good but did it change it's direction.

[couchpotato]

I heard Bruce Willis was a consultant on the project????

[ballpoint]

13 hours ago, farmerjo said:

Very good but did it change it's direction.

Sunk it straight into the corner pocket. Unfortunately, destroyed the cue ball while doing so.

[Chomper Higgot]

16 hours ago, farmerjo said:

Very good but did it change it's direction.

The NASA report I read suggests it will be about two weeks before they have gathered enough data to answer that question.

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

First image look promising

 

First images show aftermath of NASA's DART asteroid collision mission

The first images from LICIACube show huge plumes of debris erupting out of Dimorphos after the collision. These pictures have not been analysed by scientists yet, but eventually they will reveal information about the asteroid’s interior and how much of it was destroyed in the smash-up.

 

It will take at least a few days to observe and calculate how Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos has changed. That will depend in large part on the asteroid’s internal strength and whether its surface crumbled on collision or stood up to the crash. 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2339764-first-images-show-aftermath-of-nasas-dart-asteroid-collision-mission/

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

First image look promising

 

First images show aftermath of NASA's DART asteroid collision mission

The first images from LICIACube show huge plumes of debris erupting out of Dimorphos after the collision. These pictures have not been analysed by scientists yet, but eventually they will reveal information about the asteroid’s interior and how much of it was destroyed in the smash-up.

 

It will take at least a few days to observe and calculate how Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos has changed. That will depend in large part on the asteroid’s internal strength and whether its surface crumbled on collision or stood up to the crash. 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2339764-first-images-show-aftermath-of-nasas-dart-asteroid-collision-mission/

Given that asteroids likely come in different sizes and composition this experiment may be of limited usefulness. However, I'm sure Bruce will be standing by for the call to save us.

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Given that asteroids likely come in different sizes and composition this experiment may be of limited usefulness. However, I'm sure Bruce will be standing by for the call to save us.

If you read all the information on this then you'd know it has an enormous potential use as already demonstrated

[Bkk Brian]

On 9/27/2022 at 9:49 PM, farmerjo said:

Very good but did it change it's direction.

Yes, history made a success.

 

Asteroid's path altered in NASA's first test of planetary defense system

Oct 11 (Reuters) - The spacecraft NASA deliberately crashed into an asteroid last month succeeded in nudging the rocky moonlet from its natural path into a faster orbit, marking the first time humanity has altered the motion of a celestial body, the U.S. space agency announced on Tuesday.

The $330 million proof-of-concept mission, which was seven years in development, also represented the world's first test of a planetary defense system designed to prevent a potential doomsday meteorite collision with Earth.

 

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/nasa-says-dart-mission-succeeded-altering-asteroids-trajectory-2022-10-11/