The US space agency (NASA) announced that its latest attempt to divert the path of an asteroid was successful.
Scientists have now confirmed that the orbit of the 160-metre-wide space rock known as Dimorphos was altered when the Dart probe collided with it last month.
The researchers came to the conclusion after measurements using a series of space and ground-based telescopes. The mission was designed to test a possible strategy for protecting Earth against threatening objects.
Dart’s achievement proves that such an idea could succeed, provided it was started early enough and the goal was not too massive.
“This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever space throws at us,” said agency chief Bill Nelson. “I believe that NASA has proven that we are serious as protectors of the planet,” he told reporters.
The experiment took place about 11 million kilometers from Earth, and the 750-kilogram Dart spacecraft was seen heading straight for Dimorphos, destroying itself in the process.
The space rock orbits a much larger object (780 meters across) called Didymos. Before the collision, Dimorphos took 11 hours and 55 minutes to complete an orbit around Didymos.
Telescope tests now show that this orbital period has been reduced to 11 hours and 23 minutes, a difference of 32 minutes.