NASAs DART Mission Confirms Crashing Spacecraft into Asteroids Can Deflect Them

As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission had not yet been completed. DART was a mission designed to test whether crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid could be an effective method for deflecting potentially hazardous asteroids. The primary target for DART was the binary asteroid system Didymos, which consists of a larger primary asteroid and a smaller moonlet called "Dimorphos" or "Didymoon."

The idea behind the DART mission was to study the effects of a high-speed impact on the smaller moonlet. By impacting Dimorphos at high velocity, scientists aimed to determine whether the kinetic energy from the spacecraft could alter the moonlet's orbit around the primary asteroid. If successful, this technique could potentially be used to redirect asteroids on a collision course with Earth.

Since my knowledge is not up to date, I cannot provide information on the specific results and outcomes of the DART mission. To learn more about the mission's findings and whether it confirmed that crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid can effectively deflect it, I recommend checking NASA's official website or other reliable sources for the most recent information and updates on the DART mission.