NASA’s DART Spacecraft Successfully Passes Test

NASA has officially determined the DART mission a success, revealing in a press conference that the asteroid's orbit has changed significantly due to the impact.

September 26, NASA executed the final stage of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), in which a spacecraft intentionally crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos to investigate whether such an impact could deflect an Earth-bound stellar object.

The spacecraft, which is about the size of a refrigerator, slammed into Dimorphos, roughly the size of a football stadium, at 14,000 miles per hour causing in to change its trajectory.

Dimorphos never posed a risk to Earth, but was merely a target asteroid to showcase this deflection technique. Asteroids similar in size to Dimorphos could cause regional devastation if they were to hit a populated area on the planet.

NASA has proven that we are serious as a defender of the planet,

NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters at a press conference.