Photo of Victor Glover, pilot of Artemis II lunar mission

To the moon. #VictorGlover

#NASA #moon #space #engineering #America #achievement #science #news #sciencenews #spacenews #spaceflight #rocket #SLS #SpaceLaunchSystem #humanachievement

Humanity shifts an asteroid’s orbit around the sun September 2022, a spacecraft roughly the size of a vending machine intentionally collided with Dimorphos, a small moonlet asteroid orbiting a larger companion named Didymos. While the immediate goal of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was to nudge the rock within its local system, new data published in Science Advances reveals a more profound result: the impact shifted the entire binary system’s path around the sun. This marks the first time human activity has measurably altered the orbital path of a celestial body. The shift was facilitated by what scientists call a "momentum enhancement factor." When DART struck Dimorphos, it blasted a massive cloud of rocky debris into space. The force of this material being ejected acted like a secondary engine, providing an explosive thrust that doubled the effectiveness of the spacecraft's impact alone. This recoil slowed the duo's 770-day journey around the sun by approximately 0.15 seconds—a tiny change, but one that confirms humans can influence the motion of objects in deep space. To detect such a microscopic change, researchers relied on "stellar occultations"—brief moments when an asteroid passes in front of a distant star, causing its light to blink out for a fraction of a second. This effort required a global network of both professional and volunteer astronomers. Some observers traveled to remote regions, including the Australian outback, to record these precise flickers of light. Their collective data allowed scientists to measure the asteroid’s speed and position with exquisite precision, proving that the DART mission’s influence extended far beyond the initial crash site. This milestone validates the "kinetic impact" technique as a viable strategy for protecting Earth from potential future hazards. Although neither Dimorphos nor Didymos posed a threat to our planet, the experiment proves that even a minuscule change in speed—roughly 1.7 inches per hour—can grow into a significant deflection over time. This provides a clear data point for future efforts, illustrating that if a hazardous object is detected early enough, a targeted strike could ensure it misses Earth entirely.

Humanity just made history: an asteroid's orbit around the sun has been successfully shifted! This landmark achievement opens a new chapter for planetary defense and our future in space. 🌍🚀✨ #SpaceNews #HumanAchievement #FutureIsNow

The Boot. #Oktoberfest #Syracuse #HumanAchievement This guy had the look of a champion. Predicted this one.

My UNsought, & quite UNexpected, #HumanAchievement of being the last Canadian accused of violating Canada's #BlasphemyLaw by a "religion", is correctly credited to the "tiny, declining, #FringeReligion" known as #UnitarianUniversalism. 😀😇

#UU #UUism #UUA

emersonavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/blas...

#worldrecord #guinnessworldrecords #headstand #extremesports #LiLonglong #recordbreaker #amazingfeats #balancechallenge #humanachievement #unbelievable

The world feels more chaotic than ever—but step back, and the trend is clear: less war, fewer homicides, and lower violent crime rates.

Civilization isn’t collapsing—it’s working. Progress isn’t loud, but it’s winning.

#Peace #Progress #History #ViolenceDecline #HumanAchievement

A cross-section of history.

A cross-section of history 🗺️

#HistoricalMaps #ExplorationHistory #HumanAchievement #OldMaps #DavidRumseyMapCollection

#earthhour that opportunity to increase your carbon footprint by lighting tons of candles. #humanachievement