NASA's Double Asteroids Redirection Test (DART) mission is back in the spotlight thanks to a creative nod from Google. The tech giant has launched a special animation that celebrates the mission's success. When you search for "NASA DART mission" on Google, you'll see a spacecraft flying across the screen before colliding with the screen, leaving it askew. This animation pays tribute to DART’s groundbreaking work in planetary defence.
DART's Mission and Its Impact
DART, which launched in September 2022, was the world's first mission aimed at testing a planetary defence system. After travelling for over 10 months, DART deliberately collided with an asteroid moonlet named Dimorphos. The collision was a test to see if we could alter an asteroid's path to prevent potential future impacts with Earth. The mission was a success, successfully changing Dimorphos's shape and trajectory. Shantanu Naidu from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory described the asteroid's transformation as shifting from a "relatively symmetrical object to a 'triaxial ellipsoid'—something more like an oblong watermelon."
Potential Meteor Shower from DART
Following the collision, NASA revealed that the debris from Dimorphos could lead to a man-made meteor shower. The collision created over two million pounds of debris, and some of this could eventually impact Earth or Mars. According to a study by Cornell University, fragments from the DART mission might reach both planets in the next 10 to 30 years. Eloy Peña Asensio from Italy's Polytechnic University of Milan noted that these particles could produce visible meteors as they enter Martian or Earth's atmosphere. However, these particles are expected to be small, ranging from the size of grains to that of smartphones, and should not pose any significant threat to Earth's surface.
NASA's DART mission not only marks a significant achievement in space defence but also offers valuable insights for future planetary protection efforts.