NASA to use a spacecraft to collide against the asteroid coming towards the Earth to change its direction and speed

Washington (US) – Space Research Institute of America ‘NASA’ is going to launch mission ‘DART’ (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) on 1st December to protect the earth from asteroid attacks.

All systems and weather are looking good for tonight’s Falcon 9 launch of @NASA’s DART into an asteroid-intercepting interplanetary trajectory → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK pic.twitter.com/BBrMndhpkQ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 23, 2021

This spacecraft will be made to collide on a cluster of 2 asteroids – DDMOS (That means on the ‘DEMORFS moving around it). They are going to check whether this will succeed in changing the direction and speed of the asteroid ? It will also be checked through this, whether the direction of the asteroid can be changed to avoid the collision of dangerous asteroids coming towards the earth in future ? NASA has given the name to this mission as ‘DART’. This mission is likely to cost Rs. 2 thousand crores.

Deployment confirmed, @NASA’s DART is on its way to redirect an asteroid pic.twitter.com/UTxkcJFcq0

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 24, 2021

A distinguishing fact is that the DDMOS asteroid had passed by the earth in 2003 and it is going to pass again by the earth in 2022. DDMOS comprises 2 asteroids. The larger among them is around 780 metres in size and it is called ‘DDMOS’, whereas the smaller one is around 160 metres in size and is called DEMORFS. Like the moon, DEMORFS revolves around the DDMOS. Just for research sake and for observation, the spacecraft is going to be made to collide with it.