hurriyet.com.tr / FOREIGN NEWS, BBC TURKISH
The spacecraft launched by the American Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the DART mission hit an asteroid called Dimorphos with a direct hit. NASA has released images of the moment of impact.
Following the world holding its breath DART mission successfully completed.
Launched in November 2021 space When the vehicle completed its journey, it crashed into the asteroid and tried to change its trajectory with its speed.
The experiment was conducted on the asteroid Dimorphos, 11 million kilometers from Earth.
Also known as ‘NASA’s Earth-saving project’, the DART mission aims to identify the challenges of preventing a large-scale asteroid from colliding with Earth.
NASA stated that Dimorphos does not pose any danger to Earth, and this attempt will not direct the asteroid towards us.
HE CONTINUED TO SEND PHOTOS UNTIL IT MADE
The camera on the DART sent a photo every second until it crashed into the 160-metre-wide Dimorphos. The photos were cut after the spacecraft was destroyed at the time of impact.
At the same time, an Italian-made LiciaCube nano-satellite, weighing 14 kilograms, carried via DART and released into space a few days ago, will photograph the crater created by the spacecraft in Dimorphos.
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Photos taken by LiciaCube will reach the world in the coming days.
IMPACT SUCCESS! Watch from #DARTMIssion‘s DRACO Camera, as the vending machine-sized spacecraft successfully collides with asteroid Dimorphos, which is the size of a football stadium and poses no threat to Earth. pic.twitter.com/7bXipPkjWD
— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022
Experts say that thanks to sky research and statistical analysis, 95 percent of asteroids that could destroy all life if they hit the Earth have been detected and that they do not pose any danger.
But there may be smaller yet undetected asteroids that could have huge impacts on humanity. If an asteroid like Dimorphos hits Earth, a crater 1 kilometer in diameter and hundreds of meters deep can form, and the impact will be quite large.
Four years from now, three European Space Agency spacecraft will carry out follow-up studies at Didymos and Dimorphos on a mission called Hera.
The DART mission, which stands for ‘Double Asteroid Redirection Test’ or ‘Double Asteroid Redirection Test’, emerged as a result of NASA’s search for defense against these asteroids.
HOW READY IS THE WORLD?
In the event that an asteroid hits the Earth, scientists discussed possible emergency plans and developed plans for what can be done to stop this object.
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The team involved in the study named the hypothetical asteroid impact scenario ‘2021 PDC’. According to this scenario, the asteroid, which is 56 million kilometers away from our planet, hits the Earth within 6 months.
Scientists agreed that in such a case, the asteroid would create a massive nuclear explosion effect and cause dire consequences.
Underlining that we are ineffective against such a situation with the technology we have, the team stated that the only solution is not to evacuate the collision zone early.
This means tens of millions of people leaving their homes or even their countries, in other words, it means the biggest refugee crisis on our planet.
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