DART, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test, will crash a small spacecraft into a small moon called Dimorphos. The small moon orbits a near-Earth asteroid called Didymos. NASA hopes to use the maneuvering device to change the direction of Dimorphos’ orbit. If successful, it would open up new avenues for space agencies around the world to defend against deadly asteroids.
Those who want to watch the NASA DART test live will be able to do so on Monday, September 26 at 6 p.m. ET. NASA is also planning to hold several key media briefings at various locations in the days leading up to the event. All of these briefings and impacts will be at NASAtelevisionon live. Many of those involved will also be featured on NASA’s website and its YouTube channel.
Here’s a quick breakdown of all of Wie’s upcoming broadcasts and information on when to watch them live:
On Monday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. ET, NASA will host a mixed media day at its Applied Physics Laboratory. The event will showcase the technology that makes NASA’s DART test possible. NASA said it will share more information about the event closer to the date;
On Thursday, September 22, NASA will hold another briefing at 3 p.m. ET. The briefing, which will be held at NASA Headquarters in Washington, will also discuss the final activities of the DART test before it affects Dimorphos.
Finally, the day of the NASA DART test will come, on September 26, starting at 6 p.m. ET, when NASA will demonstrate the impact itself. It’s unclear exactly how much impact DART will have on the asteroid Dimorphos. This data should become more apparent as orbital changes take effect in the next few years.
If NASA’s DART test is successful, it could open the door to more asteroid monitoring and planetary defense research. This will hopefully make it possible to defend Earth from killer asteroids of any kind in the future.