We’re Going To Try To Shove An Asteroid, Y’all
(Photo by ESA 2010 MPS for OSIRIS Team via Getty Images)
NASA will try to alter the course of an asteroid by slamming a spacecraft into it Monday.
According to Phys.org, the mission is a test of whether humans can deflect objects that pose a threat to Earth, and was actually launched last November. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft will draw within range Monday, seven million miles from Earth.
Several major telescopes will try to watch the impact, including the new James Webb Space Telescope.
The target asteroid poses no threat to Earth, making it an ideal test target. If successful, future missions could redirect large asteroids that appear to be on a collision course with our planet.
An asteroid is widely blamed for the demise of the dinosaurs around 66 million years ago.
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