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NASA spacecraft will slam into asteroid in first planetary-defence test

The DART mission has launched. Next up, it will try out a manoeuvre that could one day deflect killer asteroids from Earth.
  1. Alexandra Witze
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Illustration of cubical space probe approaching an asteroid.

The DART mission aims to smash into the asteroid Dimorphos, as shown in this artist’s illustration. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University APL

NASA has just launched a multimillion-dollar spacecraft — to slam into an asteroid. Rather than being a catastrophic error, however, it will be the first test of a way to protect Earth from killer asteroids.

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Nature 600, 17-18 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03471-w

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 24 November 2021: This story has been updated to reflect the launch of the DART mission.

References

  1. Rivkin, A. S. et al. Planet. Sci. J. 2, 173 (2021).

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  2. King, P. K. et al. Acta Astronaut. 188, 367–386 (2021).

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  3. Dotto, E. et al. Planet. Space Sci. 199, 105185 (2021).

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