--- title: "Video Shows NASA Spacecraft Smashing Asteroid From Earth’s View" description: "NASA's asteroid smashing DART mission was so successful, its impact could be seen from the surface of the Earth — and we have the footage." date: "2022-09-27" modified: "2022-09-27" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-nasa-dart-smashing-asteroid" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "asteroids" - "dart" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # Video Shows NASA Spacecraft Smashing Asteroid From Earth’s View ![NASA's asteroid smashing DART mission was so successful, its impact could be seen from the surface of the Earth — and we have the footage.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Tick Tick Boom NASA's [asteroid-smashing mission]() was so successful that its impact could be seen from Earth — albeit with a sizable telescope. As stargazer Tim Lister of the Las Cumbres Observatory [pointed out on Twitter](), sped-up footage of the collision, captured by a telescope in South Africa, showed the exact moment that NASA's Double Asteroid Reduction Test (DART) craft pummeled the asteroid, appearing to kick up a great wave of debris. https://twitter.com/astrosnapper/status/1574578176214196225 Lister wasn't the only professional sky-watcher to post Earth-bound video of the collision, either. The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) joint project between NASA and the University of Hawaii also shared its telescope's footage of the moment when DART battered Dimorphos. It, too, is nothing short of incredible. https://twitter.com/fallingstarIfA/status/1574583529731670021 ## Doing the Didymos-t Though Dimorphos, the impacted part of the Didymos asteroid pair, presented no threat to Earth, this first test of DART's capabilities was an important first step in seeing if NASA's car-sized asteroid defense craft could help stave off others that could wreak major havoc if they make landfall. Judging by how spectacular the collision appeared to have been — and how [effusive NASA scientists were]() about it, calling it "beautiful to watch" — it seems likely that DART accomplished its goal, though we're still holding out for data showing how the impact affected the pair's trajectory. "Humanity one, asteroid zero," one NASA presenter said on the agency's live stream of the in-orbit wrecking ball. And honestly, with this kind of footage, it's hard not to agree with them. **More asteroids:** *[Asteroid's Surface Like a "Plastic Ball Pit," Scientists Find]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()