Nasa probe to smash into asteroid and knock it out of orbit in first ever planetary defence system test

Nasa plans to knock an asteroid out of orbit by launching a spacecraft to deliberately crash into it in what is thought to be the first ever test of a planetary defence system.

The ambitious mission is set to prove whether the Earth could be defended if an asteroid was on course to devastate the planet by smashing into its surface.

A project called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which aims to throw an asteroid off course in three years’ time, has been approved by the space agency.

Nasa expects to launch the probe into space between December 2020 and the following May, and will eventually collide with an asteroid known as Didymoon.

(Shutterstock )
Shutterstock

Didymoon is a 150-metre moon asteroid and is part of a double asteroid system which will be within 11million kilometres of Earth upon impact, Nasa has said.

“The collision will change the speed of the moonlet in its orbit around the main body by a fraction of one percent, enough to be measured using telescopes on Earth,” the space agency added as it released a description of the mission.

Amazing NASA Space Images - In pictures

1/61

“[The spacecraft] will intercept Didymos’ moonlet in early October 2022, when the Didymos system is within 11 million kilometers of Earth, enabling observations by ground-based telescopes and planetary radar to measure the change in momentum imparted to the moonlet.”

The spacecraft will also be accompanied by a European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft called Hera, which will be responsible for collating data about the asteroid.

The DART probe is set to launch as soon as next year and will make impact in 2022
NASA

Following the crash, scientists are to study how Didymoon's path around its parent rock changes. This will help researchers understand how to develop strategies humans could use to deal with a space rock that is aimed directly at Earth.

The launch of the special probe is scheduled to take place between December 2020 and May 2021.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT