A UCLA-led study of NASA’s DART mission determined that the strategy presents previously unanticipated risks.

Planetary defense test deflected an asteroid but unleashed a boulder swarm::A UCLA-led study of NASA’s DART mission determined that the strategy presents previously unanticipated risks.

  • freecandy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    1 year ago

    Pretty cool they were able to measure the change in velocity of an object 6 million miles away with millmeter/second resolution. Not cool that it only slowed down a few mm/second though

    • Thorndike@lemmy.worldEnglish
      81·
      1 year ago

      Actually, a few mm/sec is quite a lot. That could easily be more than enough to deflect an asteroid from hitting earth. That few mm/sec will accumulate over the time it takes the asteroid to travel six million miles.

      • freecandy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Well you would need the vector to predict that not just the speed (which they likely have, didn’t see it in the article), but pretty cool nonetheless