This illustration made available by Johns Hopkins APL and NASA depicts NASA's DART probe, foreground right, and Italian Space Agency's (ASI) LICIACube, bottom right, at the Didymos system before impact with the asteroid Dimorphos, left. DART is expected to zero in on the asteroid Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph. The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space rock. (Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA via AP) (Steve Gribben)
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, or DART, is meant to demonstrate NASA’s ability to deflect a hazardous asteroid or comet. The Dart spacecraft’s target, a harmless rock named Dimorphos, is currently orbiting a larger asteroid, Didymos, about 6.8 million miles away from Earth.
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NASA says Dimorphos, nor its parent rock, are at risk of colliding with Earth. The spacecraft is designed to smash into Dimorphos head-on at 13,421 mph and alter the asteroid’s speed by 1% as it orbits Didymos.
While a 1% nudge seems small, NASA says this change would alter its orbital period.
Tonight, @NASA intentionally crashes their #DART spacecraft into a 160m asteroid, to nudge its orbit in a world-first test of #AsteroidDeflection🛰️↩️🪨
Katrina Scales is a senior content producer for News 6 Mornings, News 6 at Noon, News 6 at 4:30 p.m. and for WKMG's numerous digital platforms. She is the voice and producer behind the award-winning podcast "Your Florida Daily". Katrina grew up in Brevard County and began her journalism career in radio before joining News 6 in 2021.
