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NASA is crashing a satellite into an asteroid to gather data about asteroid deflection
The threat of asteroids crashing into Earth isn’t a new concern. We’ve been warned about it by science fiction authors and Hollywood alike, and any kid that’s ever paid attention to dinosaurs in school knows there are bad outcomes when life and chunks of space rock meet up. The space agencies of Europe and the United States are not blind to the threat, thankfully, and they have a multi-part satellite mission in the works directed to gathering real data on how to redirect an asteroid with bad intentions for our planet, i.e., is on a collision course. Specifically, they’re planning on crashing one satellite into an asteroid and studying the effect with another satellite run by the European Space Agency (ESA).
NASA’s part of the mission is called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), and it will serve as the first demonstration of changing asteroid motion in space. The launch window begins in late December 2020, most likely on track for June 2021, for arrival at its targeted asteroid, Didymos, in early October 2022. Didymos is Greek for “twin”, the name being chosen because it’s a binary system with two bodies: Didymos the asteroid, about a half mile across, and Didymoon the moonlet, about 530 feet across, acting as a moonlet. The two currently have a Sun-centric orbit and will have a distant approach to Earth around the same time as DART’s launch window and then again in 2024.
After reaching the asteroid, DART will enter orbit around Didymoon, and crash into it at a speed of about 4 mi/s (nine times faster than a bullet) to change its speed by a fraction of one percent, an amount measurable by Earth-based telescopes for easy study. Unsurprisingly, the preferred description is “kinetic impact technique” rather than “crash” – maybe even “impact” or “strike”, if we’re avoiding terms that sound random or accidental. The mission is being led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) and managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
NASA’s DART mission is one of two parts of an overall mission dubbed AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment). Joining the agency’s Earth-protection venture is the ESA with its Hera spacecraft, named after the Greek goddess of marriage, a probe that will follow up DART’s mission with a detailed survey of the asteroid’s response to the impact. Collected data will help formulate planetary defense plans by providing detailed analysis from DART’s real-time asteroid deflection experiment. Its launch is scheduled for 2023.
Just this month, another part was added to Hera’s mission: CubeSats. This class of tiny satellites is about the size of a briefcase, and they recently made their deep space debut during NASA’s Mars InSight landing. During that mission, twin CubeSats collectively named MarCO followed along on the journey to Mars behind InSight, eventually relaying data during the landing event back to NASA’s Mission Control along with a photo of the red planet. ESA’s CubeSats, named APEX (Asteroid Prospection Explorer) and Juventas, will travel inside Hera, gather data on Didymos and its moonlet, and then both will land on their respective rocks and provide imaging from the surface.
Just to recap: Tiny satellites in a class that students and startups can and have developed and launched will travel into deep space and land on asteroids. This is big news for the democratization of space travel. As emphasized by Paolo Martino, Hera’s lead engineer in ESA’s article announcing the CubeSat mission, “The idea of building CubeSats for deep space is relatively new, but was recently validated by NASA’s InSight landing on Mars last November.”
Using kinetic energy – pure ram/crash force – isn’t the only option NASA is looking at for defending Earth from incoming asteroids. A “gravity tractor” concept would orbit a craft in a way that would change the trajectory due to gravitational tugging. Similar to how our moon has an impact on our tides or the Earth makes the Sun wobble ever so slightly, a satellite orbiting an asteroid would give pushes and pulls to set its course elsewhere.
Unfortunately, a gravity tractor likely wouldn’t be very effective for asteroids large enough to seriously threaten our planet. Also, the techniques for achieving it would require decades to develop and test in space. Laser ablation, or using spacecraft lasers to vaporize asteroid rock to change an asteroid’s course, is another technique NASA has considered, but it might be just as feasible or cost-effective to simply launch projectiles to achieve the same purpose.
Watch the below video for a visual overview of the DART and HERA missions:
News
Elon Musk confirms Tesla FSD V14.2 will see widespread rollout
Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X.
Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will be implementing a wide rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) V14 with the system’s V14.2 update. Musk shared the news in a post on social media platform X.
FSD V14.1.2 earns strong praise from testers
Musk’s comment came as a response to Tesla owner and longtime FSD tester AI DRIVR, who noted that it might be time to release Full Self-Driving to the fleet because V14.1.2 has already become very refined.
“95% of the indecisive lane changes and braking have been fixed in FSD 14.1.2. I haven’t touched my steering wheel in two days. I think it’s time, Tesla AI,” the longtime FSD tester wrote.
AI DRIVR’s comment received quite a bit of support from fellow Tesla drivers, some of whom noted that the improvements that were implemented in V14.1.2 are substantial. Others also agreed that it’s time for FSD to see a wide release.
In his reply to the FSD tester, CEO Elon Musk noted that FSD V14’s wide release would happen with V14.2. “14.2 for widespread use,” Musk wrote in his reply.
Mad Max mode makes headlines
One of the key features that was introduced with FSD’s current iteration is Mad Max mode, which allows for higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than the previous “Hurry” mode. Videos and social media posts from FSD testers have shown the system deftly handling complex traffic, merging seamlessly, and maintaining an assertive but safe driving behavior with Mad Max mode engaged.
Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy recently noted in a post on X that Mad Max mode was built to handle congested daytime traffic, making it extremely useful for drivers who tend to find themselves in heavy roads during their daily commutes. With Musk now hinting that FSD V14.2 will go on wide release, it might only be a matter of time before the larger Tesla fleet gets to experience the notable improvements of FSD’s V14 update.
News
Multiple Tesla Cybercab units spotted at Giga Texas crash test facility
The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size.
It appears that Tesla is ramping up its activities surrounding the development and likely initial production of the Cybercab at Giga Texas. This was, at least, hinted at in a recent drone flyover of the massive electric vehicle production facility in Austin.
Cybercab sightings fuel speculations
As observed by longtime Giga Texas drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, Tesla had several covered Cybercab units outside the facility’s crash testing facility at the time of his recent flyover. The vehicles were covered, but one could easily recognize the Cybercab’s sleek lines and compact size. Tegtmeyer also observed during his flyover that production of the Model Y Standard seems to be hitting its pace.
The drone operator noted that the seven covered Cybercabs might be older prototypes being decommissioned or new units awaiting crash tests. Either scenario points to a ramp-up in Cybercab activity at Giga Texas, however. “In either case, this is another datapoint indicating production is getting closer to happening,” Tegtmeyer wrote on X, highlighting that the autonomous two-seaters were quite exciting to see.
Cybercab production targets
This latest sighting follows reports of renewed Cybercab appearances at both the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas. A test unit was recently spotted driving on Giga Texas’ South River Road. Another Cybercab, seen at Tesla’s Fremont Factory, appeared to be manually driven, suggesting that the vehicle’s current prototypes may still be produced with temporary steering controls.
The Tesla Cybercab is designed to be the company’s highest-volume vehicle, with CEO Elon Musk estimating that the autonomous two-seater should see an annual production rate of about 2 million units per year. To accomplish this, Tesla will be building the Cybercab using its “Unboxed” process, which should help the vehicle’s production line achieve outputs that are more akin to consumer electronics production lines.
Elon Musk
Teslas in the Boring Co. Vegas Loop are about to get a big change
Elon Musk has a big update for Teslas that operate within the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop.
Tesla vehicles operating in the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop are about to get a big change, CEO Elon Musk said.
In Las Vegas, the Boring Company operates the Vegas Loop, an underground tunnel system that uses Teslas to drop people off at various hotspots on the strip. It’s been active for a few years now and is expanding to other resorts, hotels, and destinations.
Currently, there are stops at three resorts: Westgate, the Encore, and Resorts World. However, there will eventually be “over 100 stations and span over 68 miles of tunnel,” the Vegas Loop website says.
The Loop utilizes Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to send passengers to their desired destinations. They are currently driven using the Full Self-Driving suite, but they also have safety drivers in each vehicle to ensure safety.
Tesla Cybertruck rides are crucial for Vegas Loop expansion to airport
Tesla and the Boring Company have been working to remove drivers from the vehicles used in the Loop, but now, it appears there is a set timeline to have them out, according to CEO Elon Musk:
The Tesla cars operating in The Boring Company tunnels under Las Vegas will be driverless in a month or two https://t.co/mX4nNrJui9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2025
Musk says the Boring Co. will no longer rely on safety drivers within the Teslas for operation. Instead, Tesla will look to remove the safety drivers from the cars within the next month or two, a similar timeline for what Musk believes the Robotaxi platform will look like in Austin.
In Texas, as Robotaxi continues to operate as it has since June, there are still safety monitors within the car who sit in the passenger’s seat. They are there to ensure a safe experience for riders.
When the route takes the vehicle on the highway, safety monitors move into the driver’s seat.
However, Tesla wants to be able to remove safety monitors from its vehicles in Austin by the end of the year, Musk has said recently.
In early September, Musk said that the safety monitors are “just there for the first few months to be extra safe.” He then added that there “should be no safety driver by end of year.”
The safety driver is just there for the first few months to be extra safe.
Should be no safety driver by end of year.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2025
Elon Musk confirms Tesla FSD V14.2 will see widespread rollout
Multiple Tesla Cybercab units spotted at Giga Texas crash test facility
Teslas in the Boring Co. Vegas Loop are about to get a big change
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