A spacecraft will soon intentionally crash into an asteroid, in a mission that aims to test Earth’s defence against celestial threats.
The Dart, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test, was launched in November last year and is speeding towards a binary asteroid system, located 11 million kilometres from Earth.
It is expected to crash into the space rocks on September 26 (September 27, 3.14am, UAE time) at a speed of 24,000 kilometres an hour — fast enough to travel from New York to Paris in 15 minutes.
The spacecraft will smash into the 160 metre wide “moonlet” Dimorphos, forcing it and its larger companion, Didymos, to shift slightly off course.
Ten days before the impact, the spacecraft will release a CubeSat, a miniature satellite, to capture images of the event.
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is managing the mission for US space agency Nasa.
“Dart is the world’s first planetary defence test mission, intentionally executing a kinetic impact into Dimorphos to slightly change its motion in space,” Nasa said.
“While neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth, the Dart mission will demonstrate that a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a kinetic impact on a relatively small target asteroid, and that this is a viable technique to deflect a genuinely dangerous asteroid, if one is ever discovered.”
Scientists have been tracking near-Earth objects for decades to ensure none are on a collision course with the planet.
About 65 million years ago, an asteroid crashed into Earth and killed 70 per cent of all species, including dinosaurs.
More recently, an asteroid crashed into the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013.
The space rock exploded after entering Earth’s atmosphere and released energy equivalent to 500 kilotonnes of TNT.
The incident caused more than 3,600 windows to shatter, injuring more than 1,000 people.
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
more from Janine di Giovanni
GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE CARD
The line-up as it stands for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns
Casket match
The Undertaker v Rusev
Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro v Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy
United States Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
Singles match
Triple H v John Cena
To be confirmed
AJ Styles will defend his WWE World Heavyweight title and Cedric Alexander his Cruiserweight Championship, but matches have yet to be announced
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
