NASA Blows Up An Asteroid

In a scene straight out of a Bruce Willis movie, NASA  blows up an asteroid  – and you can watch along online. At 7:14pm, yesterday the unmanned DART spacecraft – that’s ‘Double Asteroid Redirection Test’ – slamed into the 52-foot asteroid Dimorphos at a speed of 14,000 miles per hour. While it didn’t actually blow up the asteroid, the force should be enough to slow it down and knock it off course. It’s the first test of what NASA hopes can be a defense against future asteroids that might be on a collision course with Earth. You can watch along online on NASA TV at nasa.gov. or below

IMPACT SUCCESS! Watch from #DARTMIssion’s DRACO Camera, as the vending machine-sized spacecraft successfully collides with asteroid Dimorphos, which is the size of a football stadium and poses no threat to Earth. pic.twitter.com/7bXipPkjWD

— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022