Last September, NASA carried out a groundbreaking test aimed at deflecting an asteroid off its projected course. The good news is that follow-up studies examining the asteroid’s new trajectory have shown that our planet is now better equipped to defend itself from the potential catastrophic impact of asteroids.

Five new scientific studies published in the prestigious journal Nature have reported that NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was a resounding success. The test significantly altered the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos, paving the way for more effective defense strategies against potentially dangerous asteroids hurtling towards our planet.

Thanks to NASA’s pioneering research and the hard work of scientists around the world, we can rest assured that we are better prepared than ever before to face the threat of asteroids and other potential hazards from space. This is a testament to the power of human ingenuity and our ability to rise to the challenges of our time.

Although it may not have been as dramatic as the plot of the Hollywood blockbuster Armageddon, the success of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) marks a major milestone in the fight against potential asteroid impacts. By using a satellite to slam into an asteroid and alter its course, scientists have proven that they have the tools and knowledge to protect our planet from the potentially devastating effects of such collisions.

This groundbreaking technique may even be useful in the future if a massive asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, as scientists could use the same approach to divert its path and prevent a catastrophic impact. With the success of the DART test, we can be reassured that our planet is now better equipped to handle the challenges of space and to safeguard the well-being of all life on Earth.

Joe Hiti from Audacy reports that NASA conducted a test in September last year to divert an asteroid’s path, which has now been deemed a success. According to five new studies published in Nature, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission had a significant impact on the orbital shift of the asteroid Dimorphos.

While the test was not as dramatic as portrayed in the movie Armageddon, it has now become a reality that a satellite can be used to redirect asteroids off their course. Some experts suggest that it could be used if an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth.

The impact of the DART satellite has added 33 minutes to Dimorphos’s orbit, compared to the predicted seven minutes, due to the additional momentum caused by the ejected material from the crash. Cristina Thomas, a planetary scientist at Northern Arizona University who led the study, spoke with Vice about the mission’s complexity.

“People may think of the DART mission as a fairly straightforward experiment that is similar to playing billiards in space—one solid spacecraft impacts into one solid asteroid,” Thomas said. “However, asteroids are far more complex than just a solid rock; in fact most asteroids are what we think of as rubble piles. If you hit a rubble pile with a spacecraft, a lot of material will be ejected and fly away.”

One of the studies included in the Nature publication was led by Terik Daly, who found that “the resulting change in Dimorphos’s orbit demonstrates that kinetic impactor technology is a viable technique to potentially defend Earth if necessary.” Daly, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, reconstructed the entire mission to arrive at this conclusion.

The Hubble Space Telescope also observed the crash. Its published study, led by Jian-Yang Li, found that the crash has provided a “framework for understanding the fundamental mechanisms acting on asteroids disrupted by natural impact,” according to the study.

While it’s being seen as a success, the observations of the asteroid are set to continue, and Thomas shared with Vice that the mission now should include identifying asteroids that could carry a risk to Earth.

“Next, we really need to focus on finding the currently undiscovered near-Earth asteroids,” Thomas said. “We need to understand where the potentially hazardous objects are with respect to Earth so that we can know if any pose a risk to the planet. There are currently no known asteroids that pose a threat to the planet.”