NASAs DART Spacecraft Alters Orbit Of Asteroid In Planetary Defense Test Mission

 NASA said on Tuesday that its planetary defense test mission from several weeks ago successfully used the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft to collide with an asteroid to alter its orbit.

"Analysis of data obtained over the past two weeks by NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) investigation team shows the spacecraft's kinetic impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, successfully altered the asteroid's orbit," NASA said in a press release.

The mission marks the first time humans have purposely changed the motion of a celestial object and the first full-scale demonstration of asteroid deflection technology, the release said.

NASA explained that it took Dimorphos 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit its larger asteroid, Didymos, prior to the mission. Following the DART spacecraft's impact on Dimorphos, it takes the asteroid about 11 hours and 23 minutes to orbit the larger asteroid, NASA said.

NASA is still gathering and studying data from the mission, the release said.