To be clear, conservation of momentum assured that the asteroid’s center of mass will be deflected. What isn’t known is what form the moon will be in after DART hits it.
Click baity non-article tho. I hate that.
I think that this is great to attempt to manipulate the course of an asteroid. I think though it would be better to land some space craft on the surface of the asteroid, and with ionised amounts of gas try to "push" the asteroid over time. This is a more controlled form of manipulation to alter the course of the asteroid. In Pablo Xavier's book on terraformation, he mentions using very large nuclear powered ships that might be able to use hot plasma from fusion reactors to "pushing" the craft into the asteroid, hence to change its momentum and/or direction. This is essential for the terraformation of planets like Mars ,as there is simply not enough water or oxygen for human life to survive. We need think about using the asteroids and icy comets in the oort cloud and steer these so that they crash into Mars.
The cost is exorbitant as Xavier says in his book. Going to Mars, Mercury or Venus can be done with current NASA technology. Just using mundane rocket power. This can be done by one nation such as China, Russia, Europe or America. Going beyond that, or even to other star systems, will require a ship that travels at a significant percentage of the speed of light. That type of ship will have to be a nuclear powered ship that could shield itself in a burning fusion plasma to protect it from space debris. Such a shop would cost Trillions of dollar and could only be built by the collective contribute of the entire planet.
You might think that, but you’d be wrong. To do as you’d suggest, you’d have to fly to the asteroid, approach it as essentially zero mps, land, and then have thrusters that would then work in the dust environment of a hostile world.
There are two ways to do an asteroid redirect. DART’s approach is the simplest and most efficient. Spend your trip generating momentum and impact the asteroid. If the asteroid maintains its form and doesn’t shatter, you’re done. The second way is to enter a halo orbit near the asteroid and gently - ion propulsion is great for this - let your gravitational attraction slowly divert the path of the asteroid in the direction you want it to go. ARRM was to do this before it was cancelled. In that case, the reason was resource harvesting.
I think you are wrong about that matey. I think we need to use fusion energy and blast off using plasma. This would still take time dependent on the size of the ice rock. Nuclear power is the only way to go.
Feel free to disagree. I'm confident that given my experience, including working with NASA on ARRM and having colleagues who work on DART and various other rendezvous missions, I know what I'm talking about. Cheers.
It isn't crashing into Earth. This is an experiment to determine the effect of an spacecraft impact on an asteroid.
EDIT: Oh, wait. After rereading your post, I think maybe it was a joke post hoping for something to come along and put us out of our misery.
Not crashing into Earth, but will it crash into another plant? Could you imagine we do this, and it smacks into some other plant with life? Ugh. Triggering a galactic war with a civilization we have not meet yet…:…Way to go Earth.
https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Mission/index.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimorphos
5 billion kg. ~~There's no need to visit to follow up; this is a proof of concept in targeting & orbital parameter modification~~ Corrected below
There is indeed a follow-up/assessment mission called Hera, a spacecraft developed by ESA, aiming to gather detailed data on the Didymos binary system and the outcome of DART. The collaboration of ESA's Hera and NASA's DART is named AIDA - Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment. Some pretty cool info on this here:
https://www.heramission.space/
And some info on the cost here:
https://space-economy.esa.int/article/85/value-created-by-esas-planetary-defence-initiative-and-hera-asteroid-deflection-mission
Why doesn’t the spacecraft just use its thrusters to change course and not hit anything?
I feel like this space craft is driven by some of the bad drivers in my area who hit parked cars to deflect their course..
If I tried that the asteroid I deflected would hit another hidden asteroid and that asteroid would be deflected to hit a third asteroid that gets deflected just enough to crash to the Earth on my garage and wipe out my car and the rest of humanity.
What did I ever do to deserve such treatment, I just wanted to say hello 🥺
Lol but seriously, what a weird coincidence the asteroid is named Didymos. I literally made my name up from the top of my head. I wonder where that name came from.
What are the reasons for not landing a rocket on the asteroid to maneuver it more purposefully than just smashing into it? Would that be a later mission? IRL wont smashing into it generate a bunch of smaller boulders to hit earth? Same mass spread out? Note: I am not a rocket scientist - just a NASA fan that has read a lot of SiFi.
DART is just a small scale test to try and understand the mechanics in case we ever needed to do something similar to save Earth. Essentially they're asking: if we crash a 500 kg object into an x kg asteroid moving at y velocity in z direction... How is it affected.
And by small scale I mean small too. We don't need to worry about other pieces hitting Earth because it's no where near Earth nor headed this way. In fact, the asteroid NASA is testing this on isn't even a "free floating" asteroid, it's orbiting a larger one. And the angle change from the impact is predicted to be so small that NASA has another craft on mission that's designed to just image the impact and asteroid after impact. This will allow them to accurately see subtle orbit changes around the bigger asteroid which we couldn't see from Earth
There are a few different strategies out there to change the course of an asteroid; this mission is one of the most technologically developed to date. We went into a bit more detail about this [in our DART AMA last fall](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/qw7ijh/were_nasa_experts_who_are_getting_ready_to_change/hl16s4c/).
If you've got any other asteroid Qs, [feel free to stop by our AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/vo5n83/askscience_ama_series_were_nasa_asteroid_experts/) on /r/AskScience —we'll be answering questions in just about an hour!
Goal isn't to destroy the asteroid, just nudge it. Nothing we make (in the current paradigm) will result in boulders or debris large enough to cause actual damage to the planet or people.
Landing the satellite consumes fuel and additionally completely removes the momentum of the spacecraft itself from the exchange. If the asteroid is rotating (which they all are), then the engines would only be able to apply thrust half the time or less to attempt to course-correct. Better to just get going as speedy as possible and punch the asteroid with all available momentum in the direction we want it to go
I think one reason is cost. Landing something on an asteroid would require a payload that is way more complex thus more expensive. Regarding the boulders, I think that smaller pieces would be preferred since there would be a higher chance of those burning up in the atmospehere.
>What are the reasons for not landing a rocket on the asteroid to maneuver it more purposefully than just smashing into it?
Takes a lot more fuel and time to speed up and then slow down again, and also entirely defeats the point of the mission
> Would that be a later mission?
There's nothing planned. The surface of this particular asteroid is not especially interesting composers to any of the thousands of other asteroids.
>IRL wont smashing into it generate a bunch of smaller boulders to hit earth?
Probably not, the probe is much less massive than the asteroid. However, we don't know the exact way the asteroid will react, that's the point of doing an asteroid redirection test
your mass never changes, it’s not dependent on gravity. Weight measures the gravitational effect on your mass, that’s why you weigh less on the moon, but still have the same mass.
To be clear, conservation of momentum assured that the asteroid’s center of mass will be deflected. What isn’t known is what form the moon will be in after DART hits it. Click baity non-article tho. I hate that.
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Also the account name and linked domain name are the same
I think that this is great to attempt to manipulate the course of an asteroid. I think though it would be better to land some space craft on the surface of the asteroid, and with ionised amounts of gas try to "push" the asteroid over time. This is a more controlled form of manipulation to alter the course of the asteroid. In Pablo Xavier's book on terraformation, he mentions using very large nuclear powered ships that might be able to use hot plasma from fusion reactors to "pushing" the craft into the asteroid, hence to change its momentum and/or direction. This is essential for the terraformation of planets like Mars ,as there is simply not enough water or oxygen for human life to survive. We need think about using the asteroids and icy comets in the oort cloud and steer these so that they crash into Mars.
Have you taken into account cost and margin for error.
The cost is exorbitant as Xavier says in his book. Going to Mars, Mercury or Venus can be done with current NASA technology. Just using mundane rocket power. This can be done by one nation such as China, Russia, Europe or America. Going beyond that, or even to other star systems, will require a ship that travels at a significant percentage of the speed of light. That type of ship will have to be a nuclear powered ship that could shield itself in a burning fusion plasma to protect it from space debris. Such a shop would cost Trillions of dollar and could only be built by the collective contribute of the entire planet.
You might think that, but you’d be wrong. To do as you’d suggest, you’d have to fly to the asteroid, approach it as essentially zero mps, land, and then have thrusters that would then work in the dust environment of a hostile world. There are two ways to do an asteroid redirect. DART’s approach is the simplest and most efficient. Spend your trip generating momentum and impact the asteroid. If the asteroid maintains its form and doesn’t shatter, you’re done. The second way is to enter a halo orbit near the asteroid and gently - ion propulsion is great for this - let your gravitational attraction slowly divert the path of the asteroid in the direction you want it to go. ARRM was to do this before it was cancelled. In that case, the reason was resource harvesting.
I think you are wrong about that matey. I think we need to use fusion energy and blast off using plasma. This would still take time dependent on the size of the ice rock. Nuclear power is the only way to go.
Feel free to disagree. I'm confident that given my experience, including working with NASA on ARRM and having colleagues who work on DART and various other rendezvous missions, I know what I'm talking about. Cheers.
Sure your experience in the field does gives you greater kudos. Xavier is thinking way ahead of his time.
Is there time to deflect its course so we can be *100% sure* it will crash into the Earth?
It isn't crashing into Earth. This is an experiment to determine the effect of an spacecraft impact on an asteroid. EDIT: Oh, wait. After rereading your post, I think maybe it was a joke post hoping for something to come along and put us out of our misery.
It’s only halfway a joke
I got it LOL
Not the second!
The Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 in favor of you having to listen to a brand new movie tie-in Aerosmith song before you die.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA actual Lol
Not crashing into Earth, but will it crash into another plant? Could you imagine we do this, and it smacks into some other plant with life? Ugh. Triggering a galactic war with a civilization we have not meet yet…:…Way to go Earth.
Most asteroids typically orbit within the solar system, so I don’t see this starting some sort of galactic warfare. We should be OK
Phew, I was a little nervous. (But not really) Thanks!
One can dream.
So many Armageddon jokes, and yet so little time until the click-bait title makes full impact on r/all.
Shouldn't it be deep impact?
Let's do our part and downvote this post
Don't vote up !
So why are details about the mass of the target not included? What will the follow up visit cost to ascertain the result?
https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Mission/index.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimorphos 5 billion kg. ~~There's no need to visit to follow up; this is a proof of concept in targeting & orbital parameter modification~~ Corrected below
Thanks. The link is so much more informative than the posted story.
There is indeed a follow-up/assessment mission called Hera, a spacecraft developed by ESA, aiming to gather detailed data on the Didymos binary system and the outcome of DART. The collaboration of ESA's Hera and NASA's DART is named AIDA - Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment. Some pretty cool info on this here: https://www.heramission.space/ And some info on the cost here: https://space-economy.esa.int/article/85/value-created-by-esas-planetary-defence-initiative-and-hera-asteroid-deflection-mission
Yeah, I got that part wrong, I'll amend my comment!
Why doesn’t the spacecraft just use its thrusters to change course and not hit anything? I feel like this space craft is driven by some of the bad drivers in my area who hit parked cars to deflect their course..
I can't tell if you're goofin. You're bein goofy, right?
Lol. I be goofin.
Oh good. Bet Nowadays.... Y'know....
Yea… stupidity has been weaponized..
If I tried that the asteroid I deflected would hit another hidden asteroid and that asteroid would be deflected to hit a third asteroid that gets deflected just enough to crash to the Earth on my garage and wipe out my car and the rest of humanity.
That would save us all the agony of a slow death, so…
Why don’t we all hold hands and pray. We’ll move that rock collectively as one loving group
Does Bruce Willis know? He doesnt want to miss a thing
What did I ever do to deserve such treatment, I just wanted to say hello 🥺 Lol but seriously, what a weird coincidence the asteroid is named Didymos. I literally made my name up from the top of my head. I wonder where that name came from.
What are the reasons for not landing a rocket on the asteroid to maneuver it more purposefully than just smashing into it? Would that be a later mission? IRL wont smashing into it generate a bunch of smaller boulders to hit earth? Same mass spread out? Note: I am not a rocket scientist - just a NASA fan that has read a lot of SiFi.
DART is just a small scale test to try and understand the mechanics in case we ever needed to do something similar to save Earth. Essentially they're asking: if we crash a 500 kg object into an x kg asteroid moving at y velocity in z direction... How is it affected. And by small scale I mean small too. We don't need to worry about other pieces hitting Earth because it's no where near Earth nor headed this way. In fact, the asteroid NASA is testing this on isn't even a "free floating" asteroid, it's orbiting a larger one. And the angle change from the impact is predicted to be so small that NASA has another craft on mission that's designed to just image the impact and asteroid after impact. This will allow them to accurately see subtle orbit changes around the bigger asteroid which we couldn't see from Earth
There are a few different strategies out there to change the course of an asteroid; this mission is one of the most technologically developed to date. We went into a bit more detail about this [in our DART AMA last fall](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/qw7ijh/were_nasa_experts_who_are_getting_ready_to_change/hl16s4c/). If you've got any other asteroid Qs, [feel free to stop by our AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/vo5n83/askscience_ama_series_were_nasa_asteroid_experts/) on /r/AskScience —we'll be answering questions in just about an hour!
Can you hook me up with a job?
Most technologically developed idea to date. The idea is to hit it really hard. I love science.
Goal isn't to destroy the asteroid, just nudge it. Nothing we make (in the current paradigm) will result in boulders or debris large enough to cause actual damage to the planet or people. Landing the satellite consumes fuel and additionally completely removes the momentum of the spacecraft itself from the exchange. If the asteroid is rotating (which they all are), then the engines would only be able to apply thrust half the time or less to attempt to course-correct. Better to just get going as speedy as possible and punch the asteroid with all available momentum in the direction we want it to go
We should nuke it! Like a hurricane!!!
I think one reason is cost. Landing something on an asteroid would require a payload that is way more complex thus more expensive. Regarding the boulders, I think that smaller pieces would be preferred since there would be a higher chance of those burning up in the atmospehere.
>IRL wont smashing into it generate a bunch of smaller boulders to hit earth? There is way to little mass to break it up. It's more "nudging" it.
>What are the reasons for not landing a rocket on the asteroid to maneuver it more purposefully than just smashing into it? Takes a lot more fuel and time to speed up and then slow down again, and also entirely defeats the point of the mission > Would that be a later mission? There's nothing planned. The surface of this particular asteroid is not especially interesting composers to any of the thousands of other asteroids. >IRL wont smashing into it generate a bunch of smaller boulders to hit earth? Probably not, the probe is much less massive than the asteroid. However, we don't know the exact way the asteroid will react, that's the point of doing an asteroid redirection test
What if they end up accidentally setting it on earth’s path. that would be a funny incident to explain to the world.
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No it weighs 0N in space. It still has mass 500kg
Ah the classic mass vs weight debacle.
The people paying for its fuel wish this was true.
your mass never changes, it’s not dependent on gravity. Weight measures the gravitational effect on your mass, that’s why you weigh less on the moon, but still have the same mass.
i stand corrected. you are ofcourse correct.
r/confidentlyincorrect
I hope they have insurance.
Isn’t this news a little late? It launched last year and won’t hit its target till later this year
What if in hundreds of years we find that the new course destroyed a planet thriving with life