First images show aftermath of NASA's DART asteroid collision mission

There is a person by the name ofLeah Crane.

A small satellite watched as NASA smashed a space craft into an asteroid. The 160-metre-wide moonlet Dimorphos was hit by the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. The LICIACube has sent back images of the collision.

DART's goal in smashing into Dimorphos was to change its location in a test of how we might be able to stop an asteroid from hitting us. The spacecraft was destroyed in the collision with the asteroid.

That is where LICIA came in. After colliding with Dimorphos, DART ejected the 14- kiloogram satellite in a spring loaded box so it could fly past it. It was important to figure out how the collision affected the asteroid, and whether it changed the asteroid's path.

The first images from LICIA show a lot of debris after the crash. The asteroid's interior and how much of it was destroyed in the smash-up will be revealed by the pictures.

The science can begin now, according to a statement from the researcher. We need a large-scale experiment to make sure we know what to do in the event of an asteroid hitting us.

It will take at least a few days to see how Dimorphos has changed. The strength of the asteroid, as well as whether it stood up to the crash, will affect that. If the object is a rock and doesn't fall, it will go further than a piece of fruit. Future missions to protect Earth from asteroids will be determined by this information.

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