Dart mission: a NASA spacecraft succeeded in diverting an asteroid from its trajectory

The American space agency succeeded in diverting an asteroid from its trajectory by projecting a spacecraft once morest its surface at the end of September during an unprecedented test mission, which should allow humanity to learn how to protect itself from a possible future threat. , NASA announced on Tuesday.

The Dart mission ship purposely crashed into its target, the asteroid Dimorphos, which is the satellite of a larger asteroid named Didymos. The NASA device thus managed to move it, reducing its orbit by 32 minutes, said the head of the space agency, Bill Nelson, during a press conference.

A watershed moment for planetary defense, and a watershed moment for humanity

This is “a watershed moment for planetary defense, and a watershed moment for humanity“, he greeted.

It would have already been “considered a huge success if it (the craft) had only reduced orbit by regarding 10 minutes. But he actually cut it by 32 minutes“, he added. With this mission, “Nasa has proven that we are serious as defenders of the planet“, he asserted.