NASA smashes spacecraft into asteroid seven million miles from Earth in ‘planetary defence’ trial
NASA has successfully smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid seven million miles from Earth.
The last image from the “vending machine-sized” collider showed the surface of the asteroid Dimorphos seconds before impact.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is the first-ever trial of a “planetary defence system”.
If the orbit of an asteroid can be changed by an object sent into space, humanity may have a chance at protecting itself from the kind of disaster that did it for the dinosaurs.
NASA, and the international team of astronomers working with them, chose their target carefully. To prove success, they needed an asteroid they can carefully monitor following the collision. They also needed to make sure any impact wouldn’t send a previously harmless piece of rock spiralling towards Earth.
They picked a pair of asteroids: the 780 metre-wide Didymos, and its moon Dimorphos which is 160m wide – about the size of the Great Pyramid.
DART approaches Dimorphos
Because Dimorphos is already safely orbiting its bigger partner, they can study the change in its behaviour following the collision.
Dimorphos is also a fairly common size of asteroid. While significantly smaller than a kilometres-wide “planet killer”, it’s of a type easily big enough to destroy a city.
“What Dart is going up there to prove is that we actually do have a system for kinetic deflection, nudging these away and nudging them off course,” says Betsy Congdon, DART’s mechanical systems engineer at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
If you’ve seen Hollywood disaster movies Deep Impact, Armageddon or more recently Don’t Look Up, prepare yourself for mild disappointment.
Despite smashing a half-tonne spacecraft into Dimorphos at close to 15,000 miles an hour, the effect on the asteroid is expected to be tiny – checking its speed by just 0.4mm per second.
But over time, that should have a measurable effect on its orbit. An array of land and space-based telescopes including NASA and ESA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, will all study the asteroid to measure the outcome of the test.
An illustration of NASA’s DART spacecraft on a collision course with the asteroid Dimorphos. Pic: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
Although it’s only a modest objective, the engineering involved was a major undertaking. Didymos is far too small and far away for DART to be steered into it from Earth. The probe had to use an autonomous guidance system to target the asteroid which is so small it was only visible in DART’s cameras about 50 minutes before impact. But the sat-nav seems to have worked perfectly.
The hope is, that a tiny nudge might be enough – if the impact is sufficiently far away – to deflect a future asteroid on collision course with Earth off target.
Astronomers estimate they have tracked the orbits of 95% of asteroids large enough to destroy life on Earth and none is currently on a collision course. But there are many smaller ones. According to NASA, no known asteroid larger than 140m across is likely to hit Earth in the next 100 years. But they think they’ve only found about 40% of them.
The NASA team celebrates as DART impacts Dimorphos
Around 66 million years ago a 10km-wide asteroid slammed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. It left a crater 110 miles wide and 12 miles deep. The resulting change in the planet’s climate is thought to have caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. The impact wiped out 75% of animal and plant species on Earth – and famously ended the reign of flightless dinosaurs.
But even small space rocks can lead to a bad day on Earth. In 2013 a 20m-wide asteroid exploded as a meteorite over the city of Chelyabinsk in the Ural region of Russia. The blast was equivalent to 500 tonnes of TNT, about a third of the force of the Hiroshima bomb. While no deaths were reported there were more than 1,400 casualties, some of them serious.
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“An asteroid impact is the one kind of natural disaster that we could potentially see coming decades away,” says Prof Colin Snodgrass at the University of Edinburgh is a member of the DART team.
He’s helped set up a telescope in Kenya to monitor the impact from Earth. “If one [the size of Dimorphos] was ever discovered coming towards earth being able to do something about that seems like a very sensible technology to have.”
US
JD Vance hits out at Denmark during Greenland visit after Donald Trump says US ‘needs’ the island
JD Vance has told Denmark it has “not done a good job” with Greenland during a visit to the territory – as President Donald Trump repeated his call for the US to take over the island.
Vice President Vance, his wife Usha and other senior US officials arrived at an American military base in Greenland, the semi-autonomous territory that has been a part of Denmark for more than 600 years.
Follow latest: Key takeaways from Vance’s speech in Greenland
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Mr Vance said.
“You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people.
“We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic.”
Shortly before Mr Vance spoke from Greenland on Friday, Mr Trump continued his threats of taking over the territory, saying: “We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security.
“We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of you think we can do without it – we can’t.”
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‘We need Greenland’ says Trump
The one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik – located on the northwest coast of the territory – has avoided violating potential diplomatic taboos of a state sending a delegation to another country, without an invitation.
The trip had been scaled back after locals were angered that the original itinerary was made without consulting them – particularly in light of Mr Trump’s repeated claims that the US should control Greenland.
Speaking to soldiers at the US base, Mr Vance claimed Denmark – and Europe by extension – has failed to protect the region.
JD Vance tours the US military’s Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. Pic: Reuters
He said: “This place, this base, this surrounding area, is less secure than it was 30-40 years ago, as some of our allies have not kept up…
“Europe (has) not kept pace… with military spending, and Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of aggressive incursions from Russia, China, and other nations.”
Mr Vance said Mr Trump was “a president of peace”, adding: “We respect the self-determination of Greenlanders, we believe in the self-determination of the population of Greenland.”
Asked if plans have been drafted to use military force to take over Greenland, he indicated the White House planned to wait for the people of the territory to vote for self-determination before acting.
“What the president has said… is that we need to have more of a position in Greenland,” he added.
Read more:
Why does Trump want to take over Greenland?
Russia and America’s Arctic plans another challenge for Europe
JD Vance and his wife have lunch with soldiers at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. Pic: AP
Greenland is the world’s largest island, with a population of 57,000, and is also a founding member of NATO.
Straddling the Arctic circle between the US, Russia and Europe, the island offers a unique geopolitical advantage that America has eyed for more than 150 years.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was not surprised the US wants control of Greenland given its long-time interest in the mineral-rich territory.
“It can look surprising only at first glance and it would be wrong to believe that this is some sort of extravagant talk by the current US administration,” Mr Putin said.
Two events this week will give Greenland and friends in Europe a juddering sense of alarm.
From the West, the US vice president JD Vance has landed for a controversial visit, despatched by a president openly talking of annexation.
From the East a speech from a Russian leader hinting at carving up the Arctic and its vast mineral wealth with Moscow’s new friends in Washington.
The US vice president and his wife arrive at the US military base in Greenland. Pic: Reuters
In a closely watched speech, Vladimir Putin seemed to give Donald Trump’s plans to seize Greenland the green light.
They were “serious”, he said, and “have deep historical roots”.
Kremlin officials went further saying Russia was open to cooperating with America to exploit the Arctic with “joint investment”.
The Arctic is a huge prize. Its vast mineral wealth is increasingly accessible thanks to climate change.
Russia is well placed to exploit it with bases and ports ringing the Arctic Circle.
Mr Putin though warned that “NATO countries in general are increasingly designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts”.
A map of what surrounds the Arctic Circle
This would appear to be a warning to European nations to back off.
Yet another challenge for Europe
The threat of Russia and America jointly exploiting the Arctic in a great power carve-up is yet another challenge for Europe in this new Trumpian world order. And Greenland is caught in the middle.
Mr Trump has said he thinks the American annexation of Greenland “will happen”.
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What do Greenlanders make of Trump?
He said so with breezy nonchalance in front of NATO’s secretary general in the White House as if taking another alliance member’s territory was entirely normal.
Astonishingly NATO secretary general Mark Rutte did not push back at the idea.
Read more:
Why does Trump want to take over Greenland?
Donald Trump says he thinks US will annex Greenland
Both President Trump and his vice president say America needs Greenland for security.
This seems disingenuous. There are no hostile fleets circling the Arctic territory whatever they claim.
Besides, America already has a military base there and could ask to build more.
Mr Vance also says Denmark has neglected Greenland. Denmark actually subsidises the territory to the tune of £480m a year.
In reality, what the Trump administration seeks in Greenland is what it seems to seek in Ukraine. Mineral wealth.
When we visited this month, Greenlanders told Sky News Mr Trump’s threats are little more than a gangster shakedown.
A menacing threat designed to extract material gain.
There is no appetite for an American takeover among Greenlanders. And no enthusiasm for the vice president and his wife.
US officials were reportedly going door to door this week asking if anyone would like to meet America’s second lady. None said yes.
The Vances have had to downscale their visit, and have only gone to the US base at Pittufik.
But it seems the Trump administration is determined one way or another to acquire more territory and Greenland seems top of the list.
And its president may have been persuaded by Mr Putin it is in his best interests to share the world with Russia, whatever that means for America’s allies.
That is a challenge they will need to meet.
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US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene hit the headlines this week when she told Sky’s US correspondent Martha Kelner to “go back to your own country”.
It was the latest controversy in a political career for the Republican firebrand – a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
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Sky reporter told ‘go back to your own country’
But who is she and how influential has she become?
Host Jonathan Samuels speaks to Tia Mitchell, Washington bureau chief for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who has been covering Ms Taylor Greene since she first entered politics five years ago.
She tells us what she’s like in person, how she emerged and her most controversial moments.
Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse
Editor: Paul Stanworth & Philly Beaumont
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