The galactic slam occurred at a harmless asteroid 7 million miles away, with the spacecraft named Dart plowing into the space rock at 14,000 mph. Scientists expected the impact to carve out a crater, hurl streams of rocks and dirt into space and, most importantly, alter the asteroid’s orbit.
The $325 million mission was the first attempt to shift the position of an asteroid or any other natural object in space.Earlier in the day, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson reminded people via Twitter that, “No, this is not a movie plot.” He added in a prerecorded video: “We’ve all seen it on movies like ‘Armageddon,’ but the real-life stakes are high.”
Dart’s on-board camera, a key part of this smart navigation system, caught sight of Dimorphos barely an hour before impact. Flight controllers cheered, hugged one another and exchanged high fives. Their mission complete, the Dart team went straight into celebration mode. There was no sorrow over the spacecraft’s demise. “It’s meeting its destiny,” said Betsy Congdon, Johns Hopkins’ mechanical lead.
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