US space agency NASA confirmed that it successfully changed the orbit of an asteroid, marking the first time humans have changed the motion of a celestial object in space.
On September 26, a NASA spacecraft intentionally slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos in an attempt to alter its trajectory.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was the first mission to attempt to push a dangerous object out of the way by means of a direct experiment, according to NASA, the German Press Agency reported.
The US space agency said the mission was a test and there are ‘no known asteroid threats to Earth’.
DART experts said on Tuesday that analysis of data collected since the impact showed that Dimorphos’ orbit around its larger parent asteroid, Didymos, was altered by 32 minutes, making the test a success.
“For the first time ever, humanity has changed the orbit of a planetary body,” NASA scientist Lori Glaze said.
“All of us have a responsibility to protect our home planet,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson in a statement.
“This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us. This is a watershed moment for planetary defence and all of humanity,” Nelson said.
NASA established the Planetary Defence Coordination Office (PDCO) in 2016 to provide early detection of threats from Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) of a size large enough – starting at about 30 to 50 metres – to damage Earth’s surface and to track their paths.
Astronomers are not currently aware of NEOs that could threaten Earth, but an asteroid impact some 66 million years ago that left a huge crater in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is believed by many to have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
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