Scientists are working on a way to prevent an asteroid striking earth and wreaking havoc by playing a sort of interplanetary game of pool. | via TPRNews
The thought of an asteroid striking the earth and wreaking havoc might keep people awake at night. But scientists are working on a way to prevent this from happening by playing a sort of interplanetary game of pool.
One of the scientists behind this mission is James Walker, director of the Engineering Dynamics Department at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. He spoke with Texas Public Radio's Jerry Clayton.Clayton: For those who aren't familiar, can you give us a brief overview of the DART mission?The DART spacecraft was launched last November. It's on a trajectory which will intersect with an asteroid with the intent to impact the asteroid, small moon or moonlet.
We use this launcher for a variety of studies, including studies related to asteroids and impact on the asteroids and other celestial objects. The spacecraft is moving at about 6.1 kilometers per second relative to the asteroid, around 13,000 miles an hour. And because of that, we will get more momentum than the spacecraft had originally. And we are expecting at least three times as much momentum will be transferred.Walker:
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