![\"DART](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\/7d8bec89-d047-412c-b55e-24cb5c5bb497.gif\")
<\/p>\nBruce Willis tried it in Armageddon. Robert Duvall attempted it in Deep Impact. But the ability to deflect an asteroid off a collision course with Earth has long remained in the realm of science fiction.<\/p>\n
Now, Nasa scientists have changed the trajectory of an asteroid\u2019s orbit around the sun for the first time, and in so doing took a \u201cnotable step forward\u201d in avoiding the fate of the dinosaurs.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the US space agency deliberately smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid \u201cmoonlet\u201d that orbited a larger asteroid. Remarkable footage was beamed back to Earth as the probe, called Dart, hurtled closer and closer to the space rock\u2019s rubble-strewn surface, before crashing into it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Analysis found that the mission succeeded in changing the path of the asteroid moonlet<\/a>, called Dimorphos, around its parent asteroid, called Didymos, reducing the time of its orbit by 32 minutes and bringing the two about 37m closer. <\/p>\n It marked \u201chumanity\u2019s first time purposely changing the motion of a celestial object\u201d.<\/p>\n New analysis has now examined the effect of the mission on the larger asteroid, as well as the asteroid moonlet.<\/p>\n Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-\u00adChampaign in the United States examined almost 6,000 instances in which Didymos flew in front of a star, blocking out its light, to examine changes in its orbit.<\/p>\n They have calculated that the speed of Didymos as it orbits the sun has been reduced by about 11.7 micrometres per second through the Dart collision. It is the \u201cfirst ever measurement of human-caused change in the heliocentric orbit of a celestial body\u201d, scientists noted.<\/p>\n This is a small step for an asteroid, but a giant leap for humankind.<\/p>\n \u201cBy demonstrating that asteroid deflection missions such as Dart can effect change in the heliocentric orbit of a celestial body, this study marks a notable step forward in our ability to prevent future asteroid impacts on Earth,\u201d noted the study in the journal Science Advances.<\/p>\n The change in momentum was created by the impact of the Dart spacecraft, known as a \u201ckinetic impact deflection\u201d, and also the cloud of debris it created, which formed a tail more than 6,000 miles long.<\/p>\n It means that missions could target small moonlets in orbit around large asteroids in order to change the orbit of the bigger space rock, the study found. \u201cOur results demonstrate that targeting the secondary asteroid in binary systems constitutes a possible strategy for kinetic impact deflection, adding to humanity\u2019s planetary defence capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 How scientists could stop a planet-killing asteroid<\/a><\/p>\n This development could be important for the future of humanity.<\/p>\n Nancy Chabot, a scientist from Johns Hopkins University who helped lead the Dart mission, warned that there were currently no defensive probes or weapons ready to launch if we do spot an asteroid on a collision course with our planet, noting that it \u201ckeeps me up at night\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asteroid strikes such as the one depicted in Deep Impact could be consigned to Hollywood blockbusters<\/p>\n UIP<\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\/b1d35586-4ab8-42f1-9de8-70750dadb601.jpg\")
<\/p>\n