DART mission: Astronauts demonstrate working in micro-gravity with a fun video; WATCH

NASA is nearing the launch of its first planetary defense test called the Double Asteroid Defense Test or DART, for which it has kept the anticipations high through various means. The agency has now shared a fun video featuring astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet, who demonstrated how the mission will actually work. This one-of-a-kind mission has high stakes as the scientists will deliberately ram a spacecraft into an asteroid system to see if the same measure can be used to protect Earth from hazardous asteroids. 

Meanwhile, the video shared by the administration was shot before Kimbrough and Pesquet, who were part of NASA's Crew-2 mission, returned to Earth last week after spending nearly 200 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). In the clip, both the astronauts tried to explain the purpose of the DART mission in a Q&A session. What was interesting was the unique way in which the duo demonstrated how NASA plans to execute the plan of destroying an asteroid. Check out the video below.

To explain the viewers in an easy and fun way, the astronauts agreed upon using the micro-gravity of space and the goods aboard the space station. Here Kimbrough was made to stay stable and resemble NASA's target, the Didymos asteroid system, while Pesquet pushed an object towards the former in order to "redirect" his position. When the object hit Kimbrough, the impact and lack of gravity pushed him away from his spot, making Pesquet giggle as the mission looked like a pillow fight in microgravity. "I've redirected Shane successfully", Pesquet said with a laugh.  

DART mission: simplified

The DART spacecraft is scheduled to launch on November 24, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Scientists have planned to ram it into Dimorphos, a moonlet that orbits a bigger asteroid named Didymos. The intention behind this mission is to test the kinetic impactor technology can serve as a reliable method of asteroid deflection heading towards our planet.  

According to NASA, the asteroid system is located approximately 109.4 crore kilometres away from Earth, and the suicidal spacecraft has been programmed to collide into the system at a speed of 24,140 kmph. Several astronomers and scientists have warned that asteroids will be one of the many natural phenomenons that can be prevented but can also cause the most damage if we do not have a proper defence system against them. 

Image: Twitter/@NASA