NASA DARTs Armageddon’s Chances

Recall movie “Armageddon” in which science & military brains laughed off a nuke missile’s ability to deflect global killer asteroid away from Earth yet NASA’s DART Mission WAS able to “move” tiny cousin enough 4 hope.

NASA is claiming its asteroid smashing DART a “success” as they should. And, they didn’t need to nuke it, just steer its fast-moving spacecraft so that it collided with a 525-ft distant asteroid it had targeted called Dimorphos. The technological feat of simply “tackling” the dummy was impressive enough. But, it also shifted the asteroid’s orbit around a larger asteroid called Didymos.

“This is a watershed moment for planetary defense and a watershed moment for humanity,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson understandably crowed to a gaggle of reporters at a press briefing. In a more modest vain, he added, “and shows NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us.” Before the planned collision at 14,000 mph, it took Dimorphos 11 hrs & 55 minutes to orbit Didymos but afterward that orbit was reduced to 11 hours & 23 minutes, according to Nelson. It was a bit more than expected, but every second might count …

Davd Soul