CURRENT AFFAIRS

2023

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Why did a NASA spacecraft crash into an asteroid on Sept. 26?
A
It was abandoned over a decade ago and was no longer sending signals back to Earth.
B
It had veered significantly off course on its way to explore Saturn’s rings.
C
It miscalculated its landing as it tried to grab some pieces of the asteroid in the process.
D
Its mission was to test whether scientists could redirect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -On Sept. 26, the spacecraft smashed into a small asteroid, which defenders of Earth hoped would adjust its orbit. This strategy could protect the planet from incoming asteroids or comets.

Detailed explanation-2: -In a successful attempt to alter the orbit of an asteroid for the first time in history, NASA crashed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. The mission, known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, took place at an asteroid that posed no threat to our planet.

Detailed explanation-3: -Their orbits are not entirely stable and can be disrupted by close passes of the planet Jupiter. It is entirely possible in the future, that the orbit of a relatively large Earth crossing asteroid, can be disrupted sufficiently by Jupiter’s enormous gravity field, to send it on a collision course with Earth.

Detailed explanation-4: -The mission’s one-way trip confirmed NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid to deflect it, a technique known as kinetic impact.

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