On September 26 at at 7.14 PM EDT, NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission is expected to collide with the asteroid Dimorphos (4.44 AM IST on September 27). DART will be the first mission to test a technique that might be used to divert asteroids that are dangerous to Earth. Here’s how to view the event’s live webcast from the space agency.
The event will be livestreamed by NASA on its YouTube channel, NASA TV app, and other platforms. The window above allows you to see the collision as well. The organization will start broadcasting live from the spaceship on September 27 at 3.30 am IST, or 6 pm EDT, on September 26.
Dimorphos, a 160-meter-wide asteroid, revolves around the considerably bigger Didymos, a 780-meter-wide object. The orbit of the smaller asteroid around the larger one will be somewhat altered when DART collides with Dimorphos. Telescopes on the earth and in space, such as the Hubble and Webb telescopes, will be used by scientists on Earth to measure this shift.
Although Dimorphos does not actually threaten Earth, the mission will provide valuable information for researchers. To determine whether the “kinetic impact” method can be useful as a mitigation strategy in the event of a real threat from an asteroid, they will contrast this data with the numerous computer-generated simulations they have already done.
The Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation, also known as DRACO, is the only instrument present aboard the DART spacecraft. It is a high-resolution camera that will take pictures of Didymos and Dimorphos and assist DART’s autonomous navigation system at the same time.