How Will We Know if NASA’s DART Mission Successfully Changed an Asteroid’s Orbit?
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, also known as DART, is humanity’s first attempt to change the motion of a non-hazardous asteroid in space by intentionally crashing a spacecraft into it. After impact, ground-based observatories across the globe will turn their eyes to the skies to determine if this planetary defense test was successful. In this video, NASA visits Lowell Observatory to learn more about how astronomers have been tracking this double asteroid over the course of many years, and how they will document the orbital change post-impact. DART is a spacecraft designed to impact an asteroid as a test of technology. DART’s target asteroid is NOT a threat to Earth. This asteroid system is a perfect testing ground to see if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is an effective way to change its course, should a hazardous asteroid be discovered in the future.
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What if the Worst Asteroids From the Past Hit Earth Tomorrow?
Was was the worst asteroid ever? Fifty thousand years ago, a space rock slammed into Earth and made a big boom.
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Apollo 13 Views of the Moon in 4K
This video uses data gathered from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft to recreate some of the stunning views of the Moon that the Apollo 13 astronauts saw on their perilous journey around the farside in 1970. These visualizations, in 4K resolution, depict many different views of the lunar surface, starting with earthset and sunrise and concluding with the time Apollo 13 reestablished radio contact with Mission Control. Also depicted is the path of the free return trajectory around the Moon, and a continuous view of the Moon throughout that path.
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