Dart's Target Asteroids Getting Closer and Closer

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Nassa scientists made history this week as the double asteroid redirection test, or dart, mission, hit its target 11 million kilometers from earth. The goal was to smash a space craft travelling at 22 thousand 500 kilometers per hour into a space rock coming the other way. Some see it as a first step towards using them as a resource for future space missions. So how did the team at nassau achieve this incredible feat? And is it the best way to protect our planet from a giant killer asteroid? I mean, sample the guardian science editor, and this is science weekly.

This week, Nasa scientists smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, more than 11m km from Earth. Most rocket scientists would wince at the thought, but the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, was purposefully designed to slam head-on into the asteroid Dimorphos. The aim is to nudge it off its current orbit, in an experiment that will assess the possibility of deflecting a killer space rock – if one was ever headed our way. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Colin Snodgrass about why they chose Dimorphos, what happens to the asteroid now, and whether there are other ways to prevent space-based planetary destruction. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod