The DART probe, launched by the United States last November, collided with the asteroid Dimorph as part of a scientific experiment to change the orbit of a binary asteroid.
The contact took place at 7:15 pm East Coast time (2:15 am Moscow time on September 27). At the time of the collision, the probe was moving at a speed of approximately 24,000 kilometers per hour.
This is the first test in the history of planet Earth to protect Earth from potentially dangerous space objects.
The collision was broadcast on the NASA website.
The asteroid Dimorph poses no threat to planet Earth. As a result of the spacecraft impact, the asteroid’s orbit should deviate “by a fraction of a percent”. The purpose of the experiment is to develop a technique with the help of which in the future it would be possible to change the trajectory of space objects dangerous to the Earth.
NASA chief Bill Nelson said the results of a scientific experiment “will allow us to understand how to protect the planet from approaching an asteroid in the future.”
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