00:00NASA might have just saved Earth from an asteroid, or accidentally aimed one right at us.
00:05In 2022, NASA's DART mission slammed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos
00:10to test if we could nudge dangerous space rocks out of Earth's path.
00:14It was a success.
00:16The asteroid's orbit changed more than expected, and it was never a threat to our planet.
00:20Until now.
00:22New research shows hitting the wrong part of an asteroid could push it through something called a gravitational keyhole,
00:27a tiny space that could steer it straight back to Earth in the future.
00:32Even a small change in orbit could turn a harmless asteroid into a ticking time bomb,
00:36and we might not realize it until it's too late.
00:39That's why NASA scientists are now creating detailed probability maps to pinpoint the safest spots to hit,
00:45keeping those cosmic threats away for good.
00:48Because when it comes to defending Earth from space rocks, one wrong hit could change everything.
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