Welcome

 Ever wondered what would it take to throw a stone as far as you can - and what it would hit when it got there? Well, back in November 2021 NASA did just that and one such 'stone' is on its way to hit its target. They sent a fridge-sized box which is to hit its target at 20,000 km/h when it will get there, on 26-09-22 at 19:14 ET (27-09-22 00:14 GMT).

 I mentioned that to my 12 yr-old son over dinner recently and was mildly interestedly acknowledged. I then turned our dinner table into a minimalistic version of the mission control and we briefly explored the simplest aspect of the mission: how would the craft acquire velocity to reach the target at 20,000 km/h?

 A super quick rewind: this mission is called DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) and aims at understanding if hitting such objects with fast moving bullets is an effective way to change their course should one head towards Earth (this one isn't!).

 Back to my ultra LoFi mission control - after dropping the velocity acquisition question on the table, I was awarded with a series of options! It is my intention in this series to report on the 3 options in the run up to the the DART collision and wrap up after the collision with final thoughts and an exclusive interview with the NASA team!

 To the options: 1- pray; 2- decelerate; 3- accelerate in steps. 

1- I must admit I thought that felt like a disengaged answer at first given it came within a second from my question. But as a mature parent and teacher - and with my customer service hat, I took on the challenge myself and will certainly havea tale to satisfy a sensible answer and its implications for such a mission.

2- Deceleration is a good proposal and I will discur on the implications of this approach to the mission.

3- Accelerating in stages is likely the way most people will propose to handle this challenge and allows for talking about a lot of what has actually happened with the real craft.

Bye for now, see you in the next installment in a couple days!  

Photo credits: cards: Space Dash card game deck; table photo (C) 2022 Jose' Brandao-Neto.