NASA launches first ever asteroid deflection mission
A spacecraft has been launched from California this morning carrying with it humanity’s greatest hopes of being able to protect our planet from a cataclysmic asteroid impact.
Fortunately the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission is only a test, and if anything goes wrong before it intercepts its target next September, then Earth won’t suffer as a result.
But the stakes are high. Scientists including Stephen Hawking have described impact events as among the greatest threats facing humanity – and even if the DART planetary defence mission proves successful, huge questions about our future readiness will remain.
The DART spacecraft’s collision will be observed by the LICIACube satellite. Pic: NASA
DART launched on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at the Vandenberg Space Force base in California.
Roughly the size of a small car, the spacecraft has been developed by NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to demonstrate for the first time the “kinetic impactor technology” using a direct hit on an asteroid to adjust its speed and path.
A small LICIACube satellite developed by the Italian space agency will travel alongside it to observe the collision which will take place when DART and its target asteroid are within 11 million kilometres of Earth, enabling ground-based telescopes to measure the impact too.
DART is targeting a near-Earth double asteroid known as Didymos and Dimorphos, with the latter being a “moonlet” estimated to be about 160 metres in size – a good test object, but not one that is actually expected to collide with Earth.
It will hit Dimorphos at a speed of roughly 6.6 kilometres per second and, in doing so, shorten its orbit about Didymos – proving that a kinetic impact can change an asteroid’s trajectory.
This nudge technique is preferred to blowing asteroids apart in the style of the film Armageddon, because the fragments from such an explosion could continue to imperil the planet.
A study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US published in 2019 warned that for objects large enough to be targeted it was likely the blasted away fragments would reform under gravity.
The DART spacecraft is just the size of a small car, not including its solar arrays. Pic: NASA
How important is the mission?
The good news is that scientists are completely confident that no asteroids larger than 1km will strike our planet within the next century – the maximum period we can see map out their movements for due to the unpredictability of dynamic systems.
What’s also good is that even among much smaller asteroids, ones larger than just 140 metres, there are no known objects that have a significant chance of striking Earth within the next 100 years too.
The bad news is that only 40% of these asteroids have been found, and the worse news is that asteroids can be much smaller than 140m and still cause significant damage to regions or cities.
Humanity’s ability to detect asteroids before they impact the planet is still in its infancy, in part because of limits set by the laws of physics – our ability to survey asteroids in the dark of space in our solar system depends on them reflecting light towards us, and that depends on direction of their approach relative to the sun and the phase of the moon.
There have been more than 1,200 impacts of asteroids larger than a metre in size since 1998 and of those impacts humanity has only predicted five in advance – 0.42% – and even those predictions came with just hours to spare.
This timeline offers much less wriggle-room than the five years between the DART mission getting approval at NASA and its scheduled rendezvous with Dimorphos next year.
Never mind deflecting an asteroid off-course, hours wouldn’t even offer enough time to evacuate a town.
But astronomers hope and expect that new technologies and monitoring systems will improve our ability to make these predictions in the future – giving us more time – and the DART mission is just the first step in us proving that there is something we can do about it when we know something is coming.
This video grab from YouTube footage shows the meteor streaking across the sky in the Chelyabinsk
What damage can impact events cause?
Impact events are believed to have radically reshaped our planet throughout history, from the formation of the moon through to several enormous extinction events.
The Chicxulub crater is believed to have been caused by a large asteroid approximately 10km in diameter striking the Earth just over 66 million years ago, leading a very sudden mass extinction of an estimated 75% of all animal and plant life on the planet – including the dinosaurs.
A similar scale impact is not expected for the next 100 years at least, but significant damage could be caused by smaller asteroids.
Back in 2013, a meteor exploded in the atmosphere near Chelyabinsk in Russia, causing an enormous fireball, shattering windows, and leading to potentially more than a thousand people to seek medical treatment for their indirect injuries.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft onboard ahead of launch. Pic: NASA/AP
That asteroid is believed to have been roughly 20 metres in size and was completely undetected before it entered the atmosphere, in part because it approached Earth from the direction of the sun – meaning it reflected no light to telescopes on Earth revealing its approach.
When it burned up in the atmosphere and exploded it briefly outshone the sun and the heat from the blast inflicted severe burns on observers below, as well as smashing windows and rattling buildings.
According to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the Chelyabinsk meteor created “an airburst and shockwave that struck six cities across the country - and [sent] a stark reminder that dangerous objects can enter Earth’s atmosphere at any time”.
“Astronomers estimate there are tens of thousands of near-Earth asteroids close to 500ft (150m) wide and larger, big enough to cause regional devastation if they actually hit Earth.
“The Chelyabinsk object was just about 60ft (18m) wide, demonstrating that even small asteroids can be of concern - and making real-world tests of space-based planetary defence systems all the more important,” the university added.
A New York court has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for rape, ordering a new trial in the landmark “MeToo” case.
The state’s highest court found the judge at the trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
In a 4-3 decision, the ruling by the Court of Appeals will mean a painful chapter in reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures looks likely to be reopened.
It was an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein dating back to the 1970s.
Weinstein’s accusers could again be forced to relive their traumas on the witness stand.
The 72-year-old former film producer has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison for sexually assaulting ex-production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 following the landmark 2020 trial.
However, he will remain behind bars as he was sentenced last year in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting an actress in a Beverly Hills Hotel.
The Los Angeles conviction is not affected by today’s decision in New York.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg – who is already involved in a hush money trial against former president Donald Trump – will now decide whether Weinstein will receive a retrial.
A spokesperson for Mr Bragg said in an email: “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in 2020
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer who represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers said today’s decision was a “major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence,” adding: “It will require the victims to endure yet another trial.”
Once considered the most powerful man in Hollywood, Weinstein was accused by dozens of women claiming he bullied, pressured, coerced, or overpowered them while demanding sexual favours.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, Lupita Nyong’o and Ashley Judd were some who accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, while actresses Asia Argento and Rose McGowan were among others who accused him of raping them.
He was also accused of reaching settlements to keep the stories quiet.
Weinstein had admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but maintains his innocence throughout saying any sexual activity was consensual.
The glut of allegations sparked #Metoo, a movement where alleged victims of sexual assault increasingly publicised their experiences, and many came forward against high-profile figures, especially in the entertainment industry.
Weinstein co-founded the entertainment company Miramax in 1979 whose hit movies included Pulp Fiction, Flirting with Disaster and Shakespeare in Love.
He was ousted from his own firm, The Weinstein Company, in 2017 after the New York Times reported nearly 30 years of rape and sexual harassment allegations towards him.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Chaos engulfed campuses across the United States as pro-Palestinian student protests spread to universities across the length and breadth of this country.
A movement which started at Columbia University on the east coast has now spread to the north, south and west.
At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles at least 93 people were arrested during a volatile three-hour standoff between protesters and the police.
A protester is detained at the University of Southern California. Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
One young woman, wearing an Arab scarf, threw a bottle of water at officers and was tackled to the ground before being handcuffed and taken to a waiting police van.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Heavily armed officers were sent to disperse pro-Palestine student activists who are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Others, who had formed a protest circle after police issued a dispersal order, were handcuffed one by one and frogmarched off campus by Los Angeles police officers.
Dozens of people were detained by police
The day had started relatively peacefully as hundreds of students gathered on the main lawn on campus.
Police did intervene to remove a number of tents that had been erected, but people holding signs which called for a ceasefire in Gaza soon filled the space.
As classes finished for the day, police issued a dispersal order, telling protesters over a loudspeaker that they had 10 minutes to clear the area or they would be arrested.
A group of at least 50 students remained, linking arms and chanting, “free, free, Palestine”. Some used a black marker pen to scribble on their arms the number of a helpline to call from prison.
Police officers turned out in force. Pic Reuters
“Are you scared of being arrested?” I asked one young woman. “No,” she replied. “I think the children in Gaza are more scared than me.”
I asked another why she feels so passionate about taking a stand on a war unfolding more than seven thousand miles away. “We know that we’re on the right side of this right now,” she said, “and if we’re not going to do this, then who is?”
The students here say they have two core aims. They are demanding that their university cuts all financial ties with Israel and that their country stops sending them weapons.
Amid the peaceful chants are potentially inflammatory songs about the state of Israel.
I asked one young man if he is concerned Jewish students may feel threatened and isolated on their own campus.
“None of the chants or anything that we’ve said is inherently antisemitic,” he said, “nor is the call for the liberation of Palestine inherently antisemitic”.
Read more:
More than 100 arrested as campus protests spread
Demonstrations are expected to continue across the US
As night fell, police here concluded that the best way to end today’s standoff was with more force.
My team watched as an officer pushed one young man to the floor and another woman was pushed back with a police baton.
They may have brought the protests to an end today but there is every chance they will erupt again in the days to come.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?