China News Service, October 12th, a comprehensive report, NASA officials announced on October 11th local time that the "Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)" spacecraft successfully collided with the target during the September test. Asteroids and change their original orbits.
The picture shows the "Dimophos" image taken by the equipment carried by the DART spacecraft, with only 11 seconds left until the impact.
Photo courtesy of China News Agency NASAJohns Hopkins APL
According to reports, the mission aims to test whether human intervention can prevent future asteroid collisions with Earth.
This is the world's first planetary defense test.
"For the first time in history, humans have changed the orbits of planetary objects," said NASA's Director of Planetary Science Gretz. "This is a watershed moment for Earth's defense and for humanity," said NASA Administrator Nelson.
The DART spacecraft was launched from California, USA on November 24, 2021, to the asteroids "Dymophos" and "Diddymos".
Neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth, NASA said.
The mission is NASA's first attempt to move an asteroid in space to verify the feasibility of changing the orbit of an asteroid to protect Earth through "kinetic impactor technology."
On September 26, NASA's DART spacecraft successfully collided with the asteroid "Dimophos".