The DART mission successfully changed the motion of an asteroid
By Ashley Strickland, CNNUpdated: Tue, 11 Oct 2022 18:33:23 GMTSource: CNNThe Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully changed the trajectory of the asteroid Dimorphos when the NASA spacecraft in
By Ashley Strickland, CNNUpdated: Tue, 11 Oct 2022 18:33:23 GMT
Source: CNN
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully changed the trajectory of the asteroid Dimorphos when the NASA spacecraft intentionally slammed into the space rock on September 26, according to the agency.
The DART mission, a full-scale demonstration of deflection technology, was the world's first conducted on behalf of planetary defense.
Prior to impact, it took Dimorphos 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit its larger parent asteroid Didymos. Astronomers used ground-based telescopes to measure how Dimorphos' orbit changed after impact.
Now, it takes Dimorphos 11 hours and 23 minutes to circle Didymos. The DART spacecraft changed its orbit by 32 minutes.
Initially, astronomers expected DART to be a success if it shortened the trajectory by 10 minutes.
It's "a watershed moment for planetary defense and humanity," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Neither Dimorphos nor Didymos pose a threat to Earth, but the double-asteroid system was a perfect target to test deflection technology, according to the DART team.
"For the first time ever, humanity has changed the orbit of a planetary object," said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA.
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