NASA has intentionally slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid in the first ever test of Earth’s planetary defense system.
via: Uproxx
Sometimes life imitates art, but it doesn’t usually imitate Michael Bay movies. On Monday, NASA successfully — and intentionally — crashed a small spacecraft into a larger (but still small) asteroid innocently floating not far from Earth. Why? More on that in a bit. But if that sounds not a little unlike the premise of 1998’s biggest movie moneymaker, Armageddon — a movie that scientists say really isn’t accurate — you weren’t the only one. The event not only drew a lot of attention — it also got the name of the film’s star trending.
As per The New York Times, last year NASA launched into orbit what they called a Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft, or a DART. Its mission? To collide with Dimorphos, a small asteroid that is part of a bigger space rock called Didymos.
Dimorphos posed no immediate threat to our planet. But that was why it was so perfect to hit. The intention behind the DART mission was to check if one proposed way to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth could be to hit it with a projectile and elbow it into a different orbit. And that’s exactly what happened.
IMPACT SUCCESS! Watch from #DARTMIssion’s DRACO Camera, as the vending machine-sized spacecraft successfully collides with asteroid Dimorphos, which is the size of a football stadium and poses no threat to Earth. pic.twitter.com/7bXipPkjWD
— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2022
In other words, NASA found a good way to stop an asteroid due for Earth. You know what’s probably not a great way to do that? Doing what they did in Armageddon and blow it up (with the help of a bunch of blue-collar oil drillers who’ve never set foot in a spacecraft much less been to outer space, of course). Still, it was close enough that it got “Bruce Willis,” who played the leader of said space-bound oil-drillers, trending. Even NPR got in on the joke.
NASA plans to test if it can change the trajectory of an asteroid with a little nudge.*
*No explosions or soundtrack featuring Aerosmith. https://t.co/7UK1lTciJv
— NPR (@NPR) September 26, 2022
As did others.
? HOY CHOCAMOS CONTRA UN ASTEROIDE PARA DESVIAR SU ÓRBITA ???
La misión de la NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) es la primera misión de defensa planetaria diseñada para cambiar el curso de un (futuro) asteroide potencialmente peligroso.
¡BRUCE WILLIS APPROVES! pic.twitter.com/xPSV0kEMs7
— Frontera Espacial (@FronteraSpacial) September 26, 2022
Somewhere tonight, Bruce Willis is smiling.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) September 26, 2022
My Dad woke me up with the news that we’re crashing a spaceship into an asteroid. I thought he was talking about Armageddon with Bruce Willis, but no…#DART #DARTMission pic.twitter.com/kTdxJw07Qq
— Thomas Bahamas (@78thomasbahamas) September 26, 2022
Bruce Willis would have done a way better job than this!! https://t.co/YwKCNrC7So
— Fredi Jenner (@FrediJenner91) September 27, 2022
Gracias Bruce Willis.#Nasa #Dart pic.twitter.com/ClFdCOgMfz
— Junior Molina (@Massaro84) September 26, 2022
Has anyone checked in on Bruce Willis since he retired? pic.twitter.com/wTCdpt2VlP
— Reverend Red (@RedDMartalArts) September 26, 2022
If anyone’s wondering why Bruce Willis is trending, it’s because of this. https://t.co/vQak8xcsg1
— Marie (@LifeOfMarie267) September 26, 2022
Thank you Bruce Willis for staying behind so this could happen. I’m sure Ben Affleck will be a great husband to Liv Tyler. https://t.co/JRmZkayQm4
— SamBobLev (@SamBobLev) September 26, 2022
There were even jokes about how another Bruce Willis movie — The Siege, about martial law being declared in NYC — almost came true during the protest-heavy summer of 2020.
After the last couple years of Stephen King’s The Stand, Dustin Hoffman’s Outbreak & Bruce Willis’ The Seige, do we really wanna tempt fate by throwing crap at asteroids bc I’m not ready to do the whole Deep Impact or Dont Look Up thing just now…https://t.co/7zUlxSXODu
— Katelynn Somers (@SomersKatelynn) September 26, 2022
The news comes mere months after it was revealed that Willis had to retire from acting due to being diagnosed with a rare brain disorder called aphasia, which affects one’s ability to communicate.
The post NASA Crashed A Spacecraft Into An Asteroid On Purpose, And It Got A Lot Of People Thinking Of Bruce Willis In ‘Armageddon’ [Photos + Video] appeared first on LOVEBSCOTT.
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