On Tuesday, US space agency NASA announced that last month’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) has successfully altered the natural path of its target asteroid.
On Sept. 26, the DART spacecraft hit the asteroid Dimorphos. NASA has since been observing whether the impact could change the asteroid’s direction through sheer kinetic force.
Astronomical measurements shows that the orbital period of Dimorphos, orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, was shortened by 32 minutes.
NASA said the $330 million proof-of-concept mission achieved its primary objective, in the world’s first test of a planetary defense system.
Neither of the two asteroids, nor DART itself presents any real threat to Earth, according to NASA scientists.
