Compiled by Tuhi Martukaw / USA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in November 2021 last year, successfully launched the DART mission probe to conduct the world‘s first “Kamikaze” experiment, which will change the orbit of an asteroid through impact. The DART probe is about to take the initiative to hit a small satellite, Deimos, orbiting next to the asteroid Didymos, which is about 11 million kilometers away from the earth, on September 26, trying to change the speed and path of the asteroid. In case there is a real threat of a planet hitting the earth in the future, it can be used as a countermeasure to protect the earth.
In the 1998 Hollywood sci-fi disaster film, NASA dispatched oil drillers to drill well on an asteroid that was about to hit the earth, blow up the asteroid, and save the earth from a devastating disaster. “We’re very excited, it’s just two weeks away,” said Michelle Chen, a DART mission engineer. However, unlike the movie, NASA’s “Double Asteroid Redirection Test” DART mission will be launched in November 2021. The aircraft is to knock the planet out of its orbit. It is expected to actively hit a small satellite “Dimofus”, which is about 11 million kilometers away from the earth, and orbits next to the asteroid “Didimos” on September 26. “.
“We’re always looking in the sky for potential new asteroids and threats, and this test will help us build confidence that we do have mitigation strategies in place once a threat is detected,” said Riley, chief executive of NASA’s DART program. The device will hit “Dimofus” at a speed of 23,758 kilometers per hour, which will change the running speed by 1% and change the orbital period of “Didymos”. Didymus is about 780 meters wide, Demophors is about 160 meters wide. If a star the size of Demophors explodes, it may release several times the destructive power of an ordinary nuclear bomb. Asteroids of 300 meters and larger may cause damage. The destruction will exceed the scope of a continent on the earth. If the asteroid exceeds 1000 meters, it will cause destruction to the whole world. This mission is the first kamikaze experiment of NASA. If successful, it will be a human For the first time, the dynamics of celestial bodies in the solar system have been changed in an “artificial way”.
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News source: China Television News