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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(126,117 posts)
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 02:30 PM Wednesday

Giant space 'boulders' unleashed by NASA's DART mission aren't behaving as expected, revealing hidden risks of deflectin

Three years ago, NASA made history by deliberately smashing a spacecraft into a large asteroid, altering its course and demonstrating humankind’s ability to protect our planet from "potentially hazardous" space rocks in the future.

But a new analysis hints that the debris from this monumental collision is not behaving as expected, raising doubts about the success of future asteroid-deflecting missions.

On Sept. 26, 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft purposefully collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, crashing directly into the middle of the space rock at around 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h). The mission was a smashing success: Not only did DART alter Dimorphos' trajectory — shortening its trip around its partner asteroid Didymos by around 30 minutes — it also completely changed the shape of the asteroid.

The collision, which occurred more than 7 million miles (11 million kilometers) from Earth, demonstrated that this type of action, known as the "kinetic impactor" method, was a conceivably viable option for protecting our planet from potentially hazardous asteroids.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/giant-space-boulders-unleashed-by-nasa-s-dart-mission-aren-t-behaving-as-expected-revealing-hidden-risks-of-deflecting-asteroids/ar-AA1IFpJr

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Giant space 'boulders' unleashed by NASA's DART mission aren't behaving as expected, revealing hidden risks of deflectin (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Wednesday OP
Good thing they are testing this now, to ascertain some of the unintended consequences of it... Wounded Bear Wednesday #1
So even if The Felon doesn't kill us all..... lastlib Wednesday #2
Interesting story and reveals that we truly don't know 100% of everything. With this particular mission, it SWBTATTReg Wednesday #3
We will never know everything. -misanthroptimist Wednesday #4

Wounded Bear

(62,530 posts)
1. Good thing they are testing this now, to ascertain some of the unintended consequences of it...
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 02:34 PM
Wednesday

They've discovered and mapped out many near Earth space objects. Hopefully, they can continue the research into deflecting them as necessary in the future.

lastlib

(26,329 posts)
2. So even if The Felon doesn't kill us all.....
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 02:38 PM
Wednesday

We're doomed anyway.....!



Smoke 'em if ya got 'em........

SWBTATTReg

(25,492 posts)
3. Interesting story and reveals that we truly don't know 100% of everything. With this particular mission, it
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 02:54 PM
Wednesday

revealed yet still more that needs to be learned about collisions in space.

-misanthroptimist

(1,388 posts)
4. We will never know everything.
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 03:05 PM
Wednesday

We'd never even be able to know that we knew everything given the Arrow of Time.

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