Surpassing:Google celebrates NASA's DART mission with a new search gimmick

2025-05-07 02:42:18source:Benjamin Caldwellcategory:reviews

Tech giant Google took it upon itself to launch its own type of celebration following NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully crashing into an asteroid on SurpassingMonday evening.

If you Google "NASA DART" or "NASA DART mission" it will trigger an animation featuring a spacecraft hitting the "News" tab and knocking your search results off-kilter.

The search gimmick reflects NASA's actual mission to knock the asteroid Dimorphos slightly off course as it orbits another asteroid.

Neither of the asteroids, which are located about 7 million miles away, pose any threat to Earth. But the test's true purpose is to see if it's possible to nudge an asteroid off course if, in the future, one becomes a danger to Earth.

NASA engineers say it will be about two months before they are able to tell if the spacecraft was able to give the asteroid a meaningful nudge.

Google often unveils special graphics or animations, including fireworks on the Fourth of July, but an animation that changes the angle of the search results appears to be new. The company's Google Doodles on Google.com frequently feature historical figures or events on anniversaries.

More:reviews

Recommend

Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds

Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly” despite concerns about the effect

Travis Kelce Playfully Reacts to His NFL Family's Taylor Swift Puns

Travis Kelce is applauding this game day strategy. Amid rumors that the Kansas City Chiefs player is

Allow Anne Hathaway to Re-frame Your Idea of Aging

Anne Hathaway's outlook on beauty is groundbreaking.The Devil Wears Prada alum recently opened up ab