Get ready to witness a spacecraft colliding with an asteroid
in the near future. On Space.com and NASA TV (opens in a separate tab), you can
follow all the activity from NASA's Double Asteroid Redirect Mission (DART),
even on impact day (Sept. 26). You can also follow media briefings on the
mission's objectives and development in the weeks preceding the impact.
DART will collide with Dimorphos, the moonless satellite of Didymos, a close-by asteroid. If the mission is successful, Dimorphos' orbital path around Didymos will be altered; the exact degree to which this occurs will be determined in the months and years that follow impact. The actions are completely safe for Earth, and the mission's goal is to test planetary security strategies there. Here's how to watch the action unfold live.
9 AM ET on Monday, September
12 - NASA DART MEDIA DAY BRIEFING
Starting with a media teleconference about the DART mission,
its goals, and status, NASA plans to host a hybrid media day at the Applied
Physics Laboratory "focused on the technology enabling the DART spacecraft
to autonomously navigate to and impact its target asteroid." Events start
at 9 a.m.; more information about speakers and how to watch webcasts of events
on NASA TV will be released closer to the event day. EDT (1300 GMT).
Tuesday, September
22: NASA DART Press Conference, 3 PM ET
At 3 p.m., NASA will host a media briefing. DART's last
preparations for impact will be discussed at NASA Headquarters in Washington,
D.C., at 1900 EDT (1900 GMT). Closer to the event, we will announce the
speakers and provide instructions on how to watch on NASA TV.
MONDAY, SEPT. 26: 6
PM ET - DART ASTEROID IMPACT WEBCAST
At 6 o'clock, live coverage of DART's effects will begin. EDT (2200 GMT). You may watch it live on Space.com, NASA TV, and the organization's website. Additionally, the public has access to live streaming on the Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube profiles of the agency. Impact is scheduled for 7:14 p.m. EDT (2314 GMT). Along with its own research, DART will also drop a tiny cubesat dubbed LICIACube, developed by the Italian Space Agency, around 10 days before impact. The cubesat will observe the collision in real time and transmit pictures of the freshly formed crater to Earth.
In 2024, the European Space Agency will launch the Hera
surveyor mission as a follow-up. That spacecraft will conduct a more thorough
examination of the two asteroids, including monitoring the impact crater and
measuring their physical characteristics and chemical composition.
0 Comments