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NASA Will Crash A Spacecraft Next Week

The DART Mission and how to watch the most important scientific experiment of the 21st century.

By Jason Ray Morton Published 2 years ago 3 min read
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NASA Will Crash A Spacecraft Next Week
Photo by Laurenz Heymann on Unsplash

Despite the damages' horror and costs, it’s fun to watch things crash. Have you ever watched a video of the world’s most insane crashes? Did you hit rewind and watch them over and over again? Well, this next crash will cost more than 300 million dollars, and it will be live-streamed for the world to watch. Believe it or not, this is a good thing.

Crashing A Spacecraft

Crashes can cost a fortune. Every time a next-gen fighter crashes it costs around a billion dollars. When a passenger liner crashes it costs billions and the loss of life is sometimes unimaginable. So, why do we like to watch them so much? Have you ever heard the old expression, “It’s like watching a train wreck, you can’t stop looking?”

What if you could plan on watching one of the world’s most expensive crashes? Well, now you can. On September 26th, 2022, in what’s sure to be a media spectacle, NASA is going to crash a nearly 330 million dollar craft intentionally.

The DART Mission

Will it be NASA’s crowning achievement or a waste of money? Some question the effectiveness of such a daring and expensive plan. On September 26th, in just 13 days, NASA will watch as the DART craft crashes into the Didymos aster330 million dollars goes up in smoke.

NASA calls it the Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART, and the DART spacecraft recently got its first view of Dimorphos. On September 26th, DART will be crashed into Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet of Didymos. While this asteroid poses no threat to Earth, the importance of this mission is to test the kinetic impact technique, using a spacecraft to deflect an asteroid that does pose a threat to the planet.

The Double Asteroid Redirect Test spacecraft will be used as a battering ram to crash into an asteroid. The mission is a collaboration of international scientists meant to protect mankind.

“While the asteroid poses no threat to Earth, this is the world’s first test of the kinetic impact technique, using a spacecraft to deflect an asteroid for planetary defense.”

— NASA reported to New York Post

It was in November of 2021 when a SpaceX Falcon 9 carried DART into space from Vandenberg Airforce Base. 10 months later DART will catch up with the asteroid after three trajectory corrections that will reduce the existing margin of error.

If DART hits its’ target at 15,000 miles per hour as NASA has planned, it will test the theory that crashing an impactor into an asteroid can be used as a technique to defend Earth.

Watching The DART Collision With Dimorphos

At 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on September 26th you can see live coverage at Space.com, on NASA TV, and on the agency’s website. The public can also watch the event on the agency's social media accounts and on YouTube. The impact is going to occur at 7:14 p.m. EDT (2314 GMT).

At any other time, will we be invited to witness 330 million dollars worth of technology destroyed intentionally? Probably not. This is one not to be missed. The results, success or failure, will tell the world how close we are as a species to being able to defend the planet against one of its greatest threats. DART may tell scientists they’ve finally found a way to defend Earth from asteroids. Or, it may send them back to the drawing board.

If you liked the story about DART and would like to see more please consider joining Vocal as a paid member. This is an affiliate link to join with so I would get a small stipend but your fee wouldn't change and you would be supporting aspiring writers working to hone their craft.

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About the Creator

Jason Ray Morton

I have always enjoyed writing and exploring new ideas, new beliefs, and the dreams that rattle around inside my head. I have enjoyed the current state of science, human progress, fantasy and existence and write about them when I can.

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Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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Comments (2)

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  • Esther Ami2 years ago

    Watching things crash shouldn't be fun but, it kinda is🙈🚶🏽. September 26th? It's a date, I guess 👍👍👍

  • Babs Iverson2 years ago

    Not to crazy about crashes but loved your NASA story👏💖😊💕

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