Earth is not yet staring down a doomsday asteroid scenario like the one in Armageddon, but scientists are taking steps to ensure the planet is prepared.
On Monday, NASA will conduct an end-of-the-world prevention experiment by flying a spacecraft named DART head-on into an asteroid at a breathtaking 14,000 mph to bump the giant space rock out of its current trajectory in a bid to see if such a strategy can safeguard humans from meeting the same fate as the dinosaurs.“This really is about asteroid deflection, not disruption,” Nancy Chabot, a planetary scientist involved in the effort, said, per the Associated Press.
Dimorphos orbits a much larger asteroid, Didymos, which was first discovered by scientists in 1996. By colliding with Dimorphos, DART is expected to nudge it into a slightly closer orbit with Didymos. Over time, this slight reconfiguration is projected to alter its course throughout space.
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