EXPLAINER: Why a NASA spacecraft will crash into an asteroid
https://apnews.com/ee5f1594906d9666d0bee18209666102
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away.
A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space rock — demonstrating that if a killer asteroid ever heads our way, we’d stand a fighting chance of diverting it.
EXPLAINER: Why a NASA spacecraft will crash into an asteroid
Sep 22, 2022, 5:34pm UTC
https://apnews.com/ee5f1594906d9666d0bee18209666102
> CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away.
> A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space rock — demonstrating that if a killer asteroid ever heads our way, we’d stand a fighting chance of diverting it.