If Earth were ever to be threatened by a large space rock — and it definitely will at some point in the future — humanity is going to need to have a plan. Astronomers know this, which is why simulated exercises like the one that took place last week are so important, but actually testing possible defense strategies is something that still needs to happen.
In 2021, NASA will launch the DART spacecraft. DART, which stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is designed to slam directly into a space rock known as Didymos B, which is the smaller half of a binary asteroid, the other half of which is known as Didymos A. The results from the test could shape Earth’s planetary defense systems for decades to come.
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NASA will test asteroid defenses by slamming a spacecraft into a space rock in 2022 originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 7 May 2019 at 20:08:02 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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