NASA’s Successful Double Asteroid Redirect Mission Resulted in Fragments Headed Our Way

Amaze Lab

Remember back in 2022 when NASA conducted its Double Asteroid Redirect Test or Dart mission? It was a success, however, experts now say that some 3 million little bits of asteroid were ejected from that impact and some of them are heading our way.

Transcript

00:00Remember back in 2022 when NASA conducted its double asteroid redirect test, or DART

00:08mission?

00:09Well that was a resounding success, with a small 1,280 pound spacecraft slamming into

00:14the dimorphous asteroid and slowing its rotational speed.

00:17However, experts now say that 3 million little bits of asteroid were ejected from that impact,

00:22and some of them are heading our way.

00:24Researchers used supercomputers at NASA's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility

00:29to calculate all of their trajectories, finding that some of those particles which made their

00:33exodus from dimorphous at speeds upwards of 3,355 miles per hour could reach Earth in

00:39just 7 years, though more realistic estimates put that timeline closer to 30 years.

00:44So should we start battening down the hatches for this meteor incursion?

00:47Experts say no.

00:48One of the researchers tracking these asteroid bits, Dr. Eloy Peña Asensio, said about the

00:53findings,

00:54If these ejected dimorphous fragments reach Earth, they will not pose any risk.

00:58Their small size and high speed will cause them to disintegrate in the atmosphere, creating

01:02a beautiful luminous streak in the sky.

01:05Unfortunately, the researchers add that because most of the fragments are so small, they will

01:09likely not be visible when they enter Earth's atmosphere.

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