On 26 September 2022, Nasa intentionally crashed a spacecraft into Dimorphos, a minor-planet moon of the asteroid Didymos.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission marked the first time humanity had purposely changed the motion of a celestial object. The minor moon’s 12-hour orbit was shortened to just 11 hours and 30 minutes by the impact.

The mission’s success has huge implications for Earth’s safety in the future, providing the means to protect ourselves from potential asteroid strikes. 

After a journey of more than 100 million miles, the craft was 7 million miles from Earth when it hit a target roughly half the length of the Eiffel Tower. 

What can this level of forethought, planning, and precision teach you about your long-term financial plans?

Keep reading to find out.

1. Start planning early

Nasa’s success came 10 months after the initial spacecraft launch and seven years after the asteroid-deflection mission was first mooted.

Arguably, the inspiration for the mission arrived even earlier than that. 

66 million years ago, an asteroid 10 to 15 kilometres wide crashed into the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The impact formed the 150-kilometre-wide Chicxulub crater, the second-largest crater in the world. The asteroid also ended the 180-million-year reign of the dinosaurs.

An asteroid hitting Earth today could wipe out human civilisation. That’s the uncertain future Nasa is mitigating against. 

Planning your finances now is how you protect your future self. And while the impetus for your saving might not have careened into the Earth 66 million years ago, the protections you put in place are no less pressing.

That means the earlier you start the better.

You’ll give yourself more options, lower the amount you need to put aside each month, and have all those extra years to take advantage of compound growth.

2. Target your goals

If the first lesson of Nasa’s DART mission is to start your planning early, the second must be to concentrate on targeting. 

The DART impactor craft was small, roughly the size of a vending machine or golf cart. It was aimed at a target just 560 feet across. 

Not only that, but it was aimed 10 months before impact, travelled 101 million miles to get there, and hit its target – at that point 7 million miles from Earth – at roughly 14,760 mph. The distances and speeds involved meant that the mission was literally hit or miss, with ground control having no way of knowing whether they’d successfully struck the asteroid until impact occurred.

In terms of your finances, targeted saving means knowing what to prioritise.

Over the last few years, the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, fluctuating markets, and political upheaval have led to tough times for savers, borrowers, and business owners alike. The basics, though, remain the same. 

You need to ensure your finances are stable enough to withstand a shock. That might be a sudden one-off expense or lost income through accident, illness, or redundancy. Maintaining an emergency fund of three- to six-months’ household income is a good start, alongside taking out protection products like life insurance and income protection.

Then, you’ll need to consider how you pay your future self. Predominantly, this is likely to be through pension contributions but your other investments might also be part of your non-pension retirement planning.

Think carefully about how you use the tax-efficient vehicles available to you and how they fit into your targeted long-term plans.

3. Keep track of your successes

Even tracking the mission from launch, its success still hung in the balance up to the moment of impact. 

The DART spacecraft hit the minor-planet moon Dimorphos on 26 September 2022. It then took a further two weeks to recalculate the object’s new orbit, before mission control could be sure of its success.

The so-called “success threshold” was a change in the 12-hour orbit time of 73 seconds or more.

On 11 October 2022, NASA confirmed that Dimorphos’ orbit had been shortened by more than half an hour (32 minutes) – an unmitigated success. 

You’ll want to be sure that your long-term plans are on track too. That’s why we conduct regular reviews, checking on your pensions and investments to ensure they are performing and that your overall goals remain the same. 

Your finances are a lifelong mission and there are plenty of obstacles and life changes that could alter your plans or jeopardise your goals. That is why we’ll be here for you every step of the way.

Get in touch

With decades of experience, our Chartered Financial Planners have the expertise to help you plan your retirement your way. If you have any questions, please get in touch and speak to us today.

Please note

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Levels, bases of and reliefs from taxation may be subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor.