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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:
Elon Musk
Tesla AI5 chip nears completion, Elon Musk teases 9-month development cadence
The Tesla CEO shared his recent insights in a post on social media platform X.
Tesla’s next-generation AI5 chip is nearly complete, and work on its successor is already underway, as per a recent update from Elon Musk.
The Tesla CEO shared his recent insights in a post on social media platform X.
Musk details AI chip roadmap
In his post, Elon Musk stated that Tesla’s AI5 chip design is “almost done,” while AI6 has already entered early development. Musk added that Tesla plans to continue iterating rapidly, with AI7, AI8, AI9, and future generations targeting a nine-month design cycle.
He also noted that Tesla’s in-house chips could become the highest-volume AI processors in the world. Musk framed his update as a recruiting message, encouraging engineers to join Tesla’s AI and chip development teams.
Tesla community member Herbert Ong highlighted the strategic importance of the timeline, noting that faster chip cycles enable quicker learning, faster iteration, and a compounding advantage in AI and autonomy that becomes increasingly difficult for competitors to close.
AI5 manufacturing takes shape
Musk’s comments align with earlier reporting on AI5’s production plans. In December, it was reported that Samsung is preparing to manufacture Tesla’s AI5 chip, accelerating hiring for experienced engineers to support U.S. production and address complex foundry challenges.
Samsung is one of two suppliers selected for AI5, alongside TSMC. The companies are expected to produce different versions of the AI5 chip, with TSMC reportedly using a 3nm process and Samsung using a 2nm process.
Musk has previously stated that while different foundries translate chip designs into physical silicon in different ways, the goal is for both versions of the Tesla AI5 chip to operate identically. AI5 will succeed Tesla’s current AI4 hardware, formerly known as Hardware 4, and is expected to support the company’s Full Self-Driving system as well as other AI-driven efforts, including Optimus.
News
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.
This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Tesla AI5 chip nears completion, Elon Musk teases 9-month development cadence
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
