Monday 26 September 2022 04:47 PM Space experts deliver their verdict on NASA's DART mission to knock an asteroid ... trends now

Monday 26 September 2022 04:47 PM Space experts deliver their verdict on NASA's DART mission to knock an asteroid ... trends now
Monday 26 September 2022 04:47 PM Space experts deliver their verdict on NASA's DART mission to knock an asteroid ... trends now

Monday 26 September 2022 04:47 PM Space experts deliver their verdict on NASA's DART mission to knock an asteroid ... trends now

Tonight, NASA may just pull off one of its most ambitious feats in its 64-year history. 

A NASA spacecraft called DART is due to crash into an asteroid that's about 6.8 million miles away from Earth. 

DART was launched from California last November – and finally completes its 10-month journey in the early hours of Tuesday, UK time. 

DART's target is the small asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, around 6.8 million miles away from our planet. 

DART will hit the space rock at 15,000mph and be destroyed upon impact, while Dimorphos will merely receive a 'small nudge' to alter its trajectory by a fraction. 

If this sounds like the plot from a sci-fi disaster movie, rest assured - neither Dimorphos nor Didymos pose any danger to Earth. 

The $325 million (£298 million) mission is merely a rehearsal of what may be required if a space rock does one day threaten our planet.

If a large asteroid was to hit Earth, it could wipe out the human race – much like the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. 

MailOnline has spoken to experts about how the DART mission will be judged a success – and any implications for Earthlings if it fails. 

Brace for impact: NASA's first ever 'planetary defence' spacecraft - sent to deflect an asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth – is set to hit its target on Monday, September 26. The graphic above shows how the mission will work

Brace for impact: NASA's first ever 'planetary defence' spacecraft - sent to deflect an asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth – is set to hit its target on Monday, September 26. The graphic above shows how the mission will work

This artist's illustration obtained from NASA shows the DART spacecraft prior to impact with the asteroid Dimorphos

This artist's illustration obtained from NASA shows the DART spacecraft prior to impact with the asteroid Dimorphos

WHAT IS THE NASA DART MISSION? 

DART will be the world’s first planetary defence test mission.

It is heading for the small moonlet asteroid Dimorphos, which orbits a larger companion asteroid called Didymos.

When it gets there it will be intentionally crashing into the asteroid to slightly change its orbit.

Dimorphos is about 525 feet in diameter, and although it doesn't pose a danger to Earth, NASA wants to measure the asteroid's altered orbit caused by the collision. 

When it hits Dimorphos, the 1,210 pound DART spacecraft will change the speed of the rock by a fraction of a per cent, a bit like when a cue ball hits a moving snooker ball. 

Post-impact observations from Earth-based optical telescopes and planetary radars will measure the change in Dimorphos' orbit around Didymos, according to NASA. 

This demonstration of planetary defence will inform future missions that could one day save Earth from a deadly asteroid impact.  

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DART – which is being referred to as a planetary defence mission – marks humanity's first attempt at deflecting an asteroid. 

The impact is due to take place on Monday (September 26) at 19:14 ET (00:14 BST Tuesday) and can be watched live on NASA TV and the agency's YouTube channel. 

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons from Queen's University Belfast, told MailOnline that completion of the DART mission will give experts 'a much better idea how to protect ourselves against a catastrophic impact'. 

'I've been waiting 20 years for a planetary defence test to be performed,' he said. 

'DART will give us our first proof that we have the technology to prevent a small asteroid hitting Earth.'  

Colin Snodgrass, an astronomer at the University of Edinburgh, said there is the possibility it won't work, but that if this is the case 'there is no real problem'.

'This has never been tried before, it is an experiment,' he told MailOnline. 'So there is always a risk that it doesn't work.

'That is why we do these tests now rather than waiting until we found an asteroid that was actually a danger and we need to do it for real. 

'If the mission fails, for example by missing the target, there is no real problem as it is just a test – and NASA would learn from analysis of what went wrong to be able to make sure a future mission would succeed.' 

Dr Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, highlighted potential issues that could occur tonight. 

'The worst case scenario is that we don't get any information back from the mission, due to a communications system failure or something like that,' Dr McDowell told MailOnline. 

'The other main way the mission can fail is if there's a problem in the targeting system and DART misses Dimorphos instead of hitting it, in which case it will sail on around the sun.' 

DART will smash into Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, at 13,500 miles per hour (21,700 km per hour). The smaller Dimorphos is depicted here to scale with Rome's Colosseum

DART will smash into Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, at 13,500 miles per hour (21,700 km per hour). The smaller Dimorphos is depicted here to scale with Rome's Colosseum

Dimorphos and Didymos are depicted here to scale with some of Earth's most famous landmarks

Dimorphos and Didymos are depicted here to scale with some of Earth's most famous landmarks 

HOW TO ELIMINATE AN ASTEROID  

DART is one of many concepts of how to negate the threat of an asteroid that have been suggested over the years. 

Scientists in California have been firing projectiles at meteorites to simulate the best methods of altering the course of an asteroid so that it wouldn't hit Earth. 

According to the results so far, an asteroid like Bennu that is rich in carbon could need several small bumps to charge

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