By George Roberts

(image from NASA’s Hubble telescope)

Throughout history, there have been questions science has repeatedly found failure in trying to answer. What is the meaning of life? What happens to us when we die? What would happen if we intentionally launched a rocket at an asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth? No longer will we lie awake troubled with such queries as these, because as of November 23, 2021 humanity finally has our answer. 

Have you ever stopped to think about the potential dangers that asteroids pose to our planet? NASA certainly has – and they decided to do something about it. Recently , they launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which aimed to demonstrate the ability to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

The test target for DART was the asteroid Didymos, a binary asteroid system consisting of two objects. The goal of the mission was to collide with the smaller of the two objects, named Didymoon, in order to change its orbit and demonstrate the feasibility of asteroid deflection. DART launched in 2021, and after a journey of about 6 months, it successfully collided with Didymoon in September of that year, altering its orbit by a small but measurable amount. The success of this mission was a huge step forward in our ability to protect Earth from potential asteroid impacts.

But what exactly is an asteroid and why do they pose a threat to our planet? An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the sun. They are made up of a variety of materials, including metals and minerals, and can range in size from a few meters to hundreds of kilometers. While most asteroids orbit harmlessly in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, some can come close to Earth and potentially collide with it.

This is where the DART mission comes in. By demonstrating the ability to change the trajectory of an asteroid, we now have a way to potentially prevent a catastrophic collision with Earth. It’s important to note that the DART mission was just a test and more research and development will be needed before we can attempt to deflect a potentially hazardous asteroid. But it’s a promising start and shows that we’re taking the threat of asteroid impacts seriously.

So next time you’re stargazing, remember that NASA and other organizations are hard at work to protect our planet from space rocks. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll even have the technology to send a team of astronauts to explore one of these fascinating celestial bodies up close.