Thread by @thesheetztweetz

NASA is just over 10 minutes away from smashing a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos, in a planetary defense demonstration.

Watch the #DARTMission impact live:

The #DARTMission
launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last November – here's some background on the mission: cnbc.com/2021/11/23/spa…

From the live DART camera, the larger asteroid Didymos alongside its smaller compatriot (and tonight's target) Dimorphos:

NASA TV hosts note that there is a 30-second lag in the data, plus a few more seconds for image processing of what we're seeing on the webcast.

5 minutes to impact.

DART is closing in - less than 2 minutes to impact

NASA is removing the impact countdown clock from the livestream, going by loss of signal to confirm collision.

Dimorphos in full view now #DARTMission

Loss of signal confirmed!

"We have impact"

NASA's #DARTMission hits the asteroid Dimorphos

Lots of happy folks at @JHUAPL, with @Dr_ThomasZ among them

@JHUAPL @Dr_ThomasZ Here's a sped-up replay of the #DARTMission approaching and colliding with Dimorphos

@JHUAPL @Dr_ThomasZ NASA chief @SenBillNelson: "I believe it's going to teach us how one day to protect our own planet from an incoming asteroid ... We are showing that planetary defense is a global endeavor, and it is very possible to save our planet."