NASA's DART Mission Hits Asteroid in First-Ever Planetary Defense Test
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Tuesday, September 27, 2022
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After 10 months flying in space, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) the world's first planetary defense technology demonstration successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, the agency's first attempt to move an asteroid in space.
Key Points:
- WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After 10 months flying in space, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) the world's first planetary defense technology demonstration successfully impacted its asteroid target on Monday, the agency's first attempt to move an asteroid in space.
- As a part of NASA's overall planetary defense strategy, DART's impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered.
- "At its core, DART represents an unprecedented success for planetary defense, but it is also a mission of unity with a real benefit for all humanity," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
- Johns Hopkins APL manages the DART mission for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency's Planetary Missions Program Office.