NASA launches new spacecraft in an attempt to save Earth from disaster
How to prevent space rocks from falling from the sky to the earth
NASA scientists have sent a spacecraft into space to test a technology that could prevent a dangerous planet from colliding with the Earth in the future.
NASA's mission is called the Dart Mission, based on which it will consider a long-term proposal to defuse a large space rock approaching Earth.
The spacecraft will collide with a meteor called Demorphus. NASA scientists are trying to see to what extent the speed and path of demorphs can be changed.
The significance of the work that scientists are trying to do can be gauged from the fact that if a part of a few hundred meters of cosmic debris hits the earth, it could wreak havoc across the continent.
The Falcon Nine space rocket launched the DART spacecraft from the Wendenberg Space Force base in California at 6:20 a.m. international time on Wednesday.
Although Demorphus poses no threat to Earth, this is the first attempt to learn how to deal with such threats to Earth in the future. That is, if such debris comes to earth tomorrow, how can it be kept away?
Kelly Fast, of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, says: "Dart is trying to make a small change in the duration of DeMorphs' orbit, and that's all we need to stop a planet from approaching us in the future." '
The spacecraft will collide with a meteor called Demorphus
Commenting on the launch of the Dart mission spacecraft, Kelly said: "We haven't gotten out of trouble yet. We have to get it to Demorphs, but it's a big step in that direction."
Space rocks are the remnants of the solar system, most of which pose no threat to Earth. But when such a rock revolves around the sun and moves towards the earth, then it is likely to collide with the earth.
The ڈالر 320 million dart mission will target a pair of asteroids orbiting each other. Such orbits are called binary. The largest of these two planets is called Daddy Moss, which is about 780 meters wide. Demorphs are about 160 meters wide.
The impact of a Demorphus-sized planet hitting the Earth would be as great as the energy of many atomic bombs. It could cost millions of lives. But space rocks 300 meters and more wide can destroy continents, and space rocks as large as one kilometer can endanger the whole earth.
Dart will continue to orbit in space until September 2022 and then hit its target at a distance of 6.7 million miles from Earth.
Dart will collide with Demorphus at a speed of about 15,000 miles per hour. Because of this, the direction of the demophores is expected to change by only a few millimeters. If that happened then her class would change.
This may seem like a small change, but that's all there is to preventing a space rock from hitting the ground. However, this is not easy to do.
Space rocks near the earth
"There are many smaller planets in space than the larger ones, so they are the biggest threat," said Tom Stetler, NASA's program scientist for the mission.
In 2005, the US Congress directed NASA to track 90% of the satellites near the Earth that could pose a potential threat to the Earth. NASA has so far only been able to identify 40% of them.
Dart also has a camera called Draco that will take pictures of his mission to determine the right direction to hit the spacecraft's demurfs.
About 10 days before hitting his target, Dart will use a small satellite called the Lycia Cube. This buggy will send back pictures after the collision.
Even small changes in the way Demorphus rotates will be measured by telescopes on Earth. "We want to know if we've really changed the orbit of the planet, and if so, how effectively we've done it," says Tom Stitler.
This is an excellent laboratory for this type of test. With this experience, the Demorphus must change course about one percent. But the exact address will be known in a few weeks or months from the telescopes on the ground.
There is also uncertainty about what Demorphus will do after targeting Dart because we do not know its internal structure. If the demurfus is solid inside, then obviously a lot of debris will come out which will push it further.