As the earth moves throughout the solar system, it can meet all types of objects. One of these objects can impact Earth depending on size. The objects that may cause damage to the earth are asteroids. 

That NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test or short for DART was originally proposed back in November of 2021. The mission that NASA created was to send a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid or object coming very close to the Earth that poses a risk, in order to alter its path. This would potentially stop a minor or major disaster from happening. 

This spacecraft is about the size of a car, and it won’t destroy an object, but it can deflect an object away from the Earth depending on its size and shape. 

Recently, a test was done on an asteroid named Dimorphos. This asteroid has proved harmless to earth at this current moment. On Sept. 26, NASA hit the Dimorphos asteroid with the spacecraft.  

According to nasa.gov, a team of astronomers have been watching the movement of Dimorphos and did notice a change in the orbit of the asteroid of a 30-minute decrease after the spacecraft impact. 

This is a huge change compared to other tests, which showed only a few minutes or less difference in the orbit of Dimorphos. The orbit would take originally 11 hours and 55 minutes to circle the Earth. With this impact from NASA’s small spacecraft, the new orbit takes 11 hours and 23 minutes. 

This is only the beginning of an international defense. In the future, this may prove to be a very helpful project for Earth and other planets.