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Ten months after launch, NASA’s asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft neared a planned impact with its target on Monday in a test of the world’s first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth.

The cube-shaped “impactor” vehicle, roughly the size of a vending machine with two rectangular solar arrays, was on course to fly into the asteroid Dimorphos, about as large as a football stadium, and self-destruct around 7pm EDT (4:30 IST) some 6.8 million miles (11 million km) from Earth.

The mission’s finale will test the ability of a spacecraft to alter an asteroid’s trajectory with sheer kinetic force, plowing into the object at high speed to nudge it astray just enough to keep our planet out of harm’s way.

It marks the world’s first attempt to change the motion of an asteroid, or any celestial body.

DART, launched by a SpaceX rocket in November 2021, has made most of its voyage under the guidance of NASA’s flight directors, with control to be handed over to an autonomous on-board navigation system in the final hours of the journey.

Monday evening’s planned impact is to be monitored in real time from the mission operations center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.

DART’s celestial target is an asteroid “moonlet” about 560 feet (170 metres) in diameter that orbits a parent asteroid five times larger called Didymos as part of a binary pair with the same name, the Greek word for twin.

Neither object presents any actual threat to Earth, and NASA scientists said their DART test cannot create a new existential hazard by mistake.

Dimorphos and Didymos are both tiny compared with the cataclysmic Chicxulub asteroid that struck Earth some 66 million years ago, wiping out about three-quarters of the world’s plant and animal species including the dinosaurs.

Smaller asteroids are far more common and pose a greater theoretical concern in the near term, making the Didymos pair suitable test subjects for their size, according to NASA scientists and planetary defense experts.

Also, their relative proximity to Earth and dual-asteroid configuration make them ideal for the first proof-of-concept mission of DART, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

Robotic mission suicide

The mission represents a rare instance in which a NASA spacecraft must ultimately crash to succeed.

The plan is for DART to fly directly into Dimorphos at 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph), bumping it hard enough to shift its orbital track closer to its larger companion asteroid.

Cameras on the impactor and on a briefcase-sized mini-spacecraft released from DART days in advance are designed to record the collision and send images back to Earth.

DART’s own camera is expected to return pictures at the rate of one image per second during its final approach, with those images streaming live on NASA TV starting an hour before impact, according to APL.

The DART team said it expects to shorten the orbital track of Dimorphos by 10 minutes but would consider at least 73 seconds a success, proving the exercise as a viable technique to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth – if one were ever discovered. A small nudge to an asteroid millions of miles away could be sufficient to safely reroute it away from the planet.

The test’s outcome will not be known until a new round of ground-based telescope observations of the two asteroids in October. Earlier calculations of the starting location and orbital period of Dimorphos were confirmed during a six-day observation period in July.

DART is the latest of several NASA missions in recent years to explore and interact with asteroids, primordial rocky remnants from the solar system’s formation more than 4.5 billion years ago.

Last year, NASA launched a probe on a voyage to the Trojan asteroid clusters orbiting near Jupiter, while the grab-and-go spacecraft OSIRIS-REx is on its way back to Earth with a sample collected in October 2020 from the asteroid Bennu.

The Dimorphos moonlet is one of the smallest astronomical objects to receive a permanent name and is one of 27,500 known near-Earth asteroids of all sizes tracked by NASA. Although none are known to pose a foreseeable hazard to humankind, NASA estimates that many more asteroids remain undetected in the near-Earth vicinity.

NASA has put the entire cost of the DART project at $330 million (roughly Rs. 2,700 crore), well below that of many of the space agency’s most ambitious science missions.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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NASA’s New Missions Will Map the Sun and the Cosmos

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March 4, 2025

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NASA’s New Missions Will Map the Sun and the Cosmos

Two NASA missions aimed at advancing space research are scheduled for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 2 from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The spacecraft, PUNCH and SPHEREx, have been designed for separate but complementary scientific objectives. While PUNCH will focus on the dynamics of the Sun’s corona and solar wind, SPHEREx will survey the broader universe using infrared observations. This dual launch, facilitated under NASA’s Launch Services Program, is expected to enhance understanding of cosmic evolution and space weather phenomena.

PUNCH to Study Solar Wind and Space Weather

As reported by Space.com, according to NASA, the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission consists of four small satellites designed to create three-dimensional images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere. These satellites will use polarized light to track solar events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), helping scientists determine their trajectories and potential impacts on Earth. Speaking to Space.com, Nicholeen Viall, PUNCH mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, stated that the mission is expected to provide significantly improved resolution compared to previous heliophysics missions like STEREO.

SPHEREx to Map the Universe in Infrared

As per NASA, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionisation, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) will conduct an extensive infrared survey of the entire sky every six months. Unlike the James Webb Space Telescope, which captures highly detailed images of specific regions, SPHEREx is designed to generate broad cosmic maps in 102 wavelengths. In a statement to Space.com, Phil Korngut, SPHEREx instrument scientist at the California Institute of Technology, noted that the data will contribute to research on cosmic inflation, galaxy formation, and the origins of water in planetary systems.

Both missions are expected to play a crucial role in expanding current knowledge of space phenomena, with their launch anticipated to provide valuable insights into both solar and cosmic environments.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2025 hub.

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SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Athena Lander, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer to Moon

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March 4, 2025

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SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Athena Lander, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer to Moon

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on February 26, 2025, carrying the Athena lunar lander and NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer orbiter. The launch, which took place at 7:16 p.m. EST from Launch Complex-39A, marked a significant step in lunar exploration. Athena, developed by Intuitive Machines, is designed to investigate lunar water ice deposits, while Lunar Trailblazer will study similar phenomena from orbit.

Scientific Goals and Technology

As per reports, according to NASA, Athena is equipped with ten scientific instruments, including the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1). The experiment consists of the Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) and the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo), both of which will work to extract and analyse samples from beneath the lunar surface. These investigations aim to provide critical data on the presence of water ice, supporting future in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) efforts.

Lunar Trailblazer, an orbiter developed by NASA, will complement Athena’s findings by mapping water ice deposits across the lunar surface. Scientists have stated that its data will enhance the understanding of lunar ice distribution, particularly in the Mons Mouton region, where Athena is expected to land.

Landing Plans and Exploration Vehicles

Reports indicate that Athena will reach lunar orbit in four to five days and attempt a landing between 1.5 and three days after that. The mission will last approximately ten Earth days. To extend its exploration capabilities, Athena carries two secondary vehicles: MAPP, a rover designed by Lunar Outpost, and Grace, a hopping robot developed by Intuitive Machines. Grace will explore shadowed craters inaccessible to wheeled vehicles, while MAPP will establish a lunar cellular network using the Lunar Surface Communications System (LSCS) developed by Nokia Bell Labs.

Challenges and Expectations

This mission follows Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission, which achieved the first soft lunar landing by a private company but encountered a landing issue that affected data transmission. Trent Martin, Senior Vice President of Space Systems at Intuitive Machines, stated to Space.com that improved landing accuracy is a primary focus for IM-2.

NASA’s contract for IM-2 was initially valued at $47 million but increased to $62.5 million due to additional requirements, including temperature data collection. Reports suggest that Athena and Lunar Trailblazer are part of a broader lunar exploration effort, joining missions such as Firefly Aerospace’s Ghost Riders in the Sky and ispace’s Resilience lander, both launched earlier in 2025.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2025 hub.

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Scientists Find a New Way To Turn Stale Bread Into Carbon Electrodes

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March 4, 2025

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Scientists Find a New Way To Turn Stale Bread Into Carbon Electrodes

A team of engineers has introduced two innovative techniques for shaping carbon electrodes derived from bread. The methods, which build upon previous research, enable the formation of electrodes in precise and sturdy forms. These advancements could enhance the sustainability of electrode production by utilising stale bread, a commonly wasted food item. The process involves heating bread at high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment, converting it into a carbon-based material suitable for applications such as desalination systems. The research aims to refine this process for potential large-scale production, offering an eco-friendly alternative for carbon electrode manufacturing.

New Techniques for Molding Carbon Electrodes

According to the study published in Royal Society Open Science, the research was conducted by David Bujdos, Zachary Kuzel and Adam Wood from Saint Vincent College and the University of Pittsburgh. The team built upon earlier efforts by Adam Wood, who had previously demonstrated that stale bread could be used to produce carbon electrodes due to its high carbon content.

The latest development introduces two techniques that allow for shaping the electrodes into desired forms. The first method involves compressing bread using a 3D-printed mold before subjecting it to the heating process. This technique enables the formation of precise electrode shapes. In a test, a zigzag mold was used to demonstrate its effectiveness.

The second method requires blending bread with water before shaping it manually. Once formed, the material is dried and carbonised in an oven. While this approach provides less precision, the resulting electrodes are reportedly more durable.

Potential for Sustainable Electrode Production

As per reports, the researchers believe these methods could contribute to the development of a low-cost capacitive desalination system. The aim is to create an environmentally friendly solution that reduces food waste while addressing water purification challenges. Efforts are underway to refine the process and explore possibilities for large-scale implementation.

For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2025 hub.


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