NASA has been testing to see if crashing a satellite into an asteroid can change its course, and has enlisted the help of SpaceX. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be launched on November 21st after the company completed a static fire test.
NASA will crash the DART spacecraft into an asteroid to see if that is an effective way to change its course should an asteroid be discovered in the future, according to a statement from the company.
A static fire test is a part of the process of getting a launch vehicle ready to deploy, and it checks engine startup performance, measuring things like pressure and temperature. Next week, both NASA and SpaceX are expected to go ahead.
The Greek word for "twin" is Didymos, which is why DART is targeting it. Didymos B is about 174 yards larger than Didymos A, and is the larger of the two. The asteroids were not on track to make contact with our planet, so they would have passed safely in 2022.
Over the next 100 years, NASA has identified at least 23 objects that could potentially collide with us. If Armageddon were to ever happen, a defense strategy would be important to protect humanity.
