"Movie Becomes Reality"... Humanity's First Asteroid Defense Experiment Conducted (Comprehensive)

NASA, 7:14 PM EDT on 26th
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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "The movie Deep Impact has become a reality." Humanity has successfully conducted the first-ever ‘planetary defense’ experiment to prepare for an asteroid threat.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that at around 7:14 PM (Eastern Time) on the 26th, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft, launched last November, successfully collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the Didymos asteroid, which was passing near Jupiter. The DART spacecraft, weighing 610 kg and about the size of a golf cart, traveled approximately 11 million km from Earth over about 10 months, precisely targeting the object and impacting the 160-meter-diameter Dimorphos moon’s surface at a speed of about 6.6 km/s.

According to NASA’s video, the DART spacecraft accurately identified the Didymos (approximately 700 meters in diameter) - Dimorphos twin asteroids about 15 seconds before impact. It then distinguished the smaller moon Dimorphos and approached to collide. The live broadcast showed a detailed view of the rocky surface of the Dimorphos moon captured by the DART spacecraft just before impact. Immediately after the collision, the DART spacecraft’s signal was lost, and the screen turned black. NASA Johnson Space Center staff watching the event cheered and hugged each other, unable to contain their joy.

This experiment was conducted as humanity’s first ‘planetary defense’ plan, assuming an asteroid impact on Earth, which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. According to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, there are about 23,000 asteroids near Earth, and about 10% of them are over 140 meters in diameter, posing a significant threat if they collide with Earth. NASA has identified only about 40% of the asteroids that could potentially collide with Earth. Therefore, NASA is launching a dedicated space telescope aiming to establish an early warning system by 2026.

Catherine Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist, said, "Dinosaurs did not have a space program to save them, but humanity does," adding, "The DART program is a significant advancement in how we prepare for potential asteroid collisions in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.