NASA's DART (short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft is on its way to a binary asteroid system, Didymos, to crash into one tiny asteroid to test out a deflection method. Instead of leaving behind an impact crater, which was the original plan, the spacecraft may deform the mini-moon that could make it almost unrecognizable.
Researchers used a new model to do simulations of the cratering process. They have discovered that the asteroid deflection mission might alter its target, which will change the appearance far more severely than previously believed.
According to Gizmodo, the impact of the spacecraft can deform Dimorphos and change its overall shape significantly. The whole crafting process can take a few hours, and this is why previous models of the impact did not predict the deformation.
The Mission
The DART mission launched in November 2021 towards Didymos. Didymos is a rock that measures 800 meters, and its own moon, Dimorphos, that is 170 meters wide. The Dimorphos is the main target of DART, in which it will smash into it at 15,000 miles per hour to hopefully offset its orbit. It is scheduled for late September or early October, when the two will come within 7 million miles of Earth.
The purpose of this test is to experiment with kinetic impactor technology as a way to deflect asteroids that could hit the Earth. NASA and other space agencies are on a close watch on asteroids that come too close that pose a threat to the planet.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is asl planning a follow-up mission to the pair of space rocks with its Hera mission. It is scheduled to launch in 2024, and it will rendezvous with Didymos by 2026 to study the impact crater left by DART, along with other changes to the asteroid.
Should Dimorphos shows significant changes to its appearance, then it will provide valuable data on the asteroid. Hopefully, this will allow researchers to learn something about the interior of the asteroid instead of just the surface. In turn, this will provide valuable information about the bulk properties of the asteroid and improve their understanding of asteroids in general.
The Asteroids
Didymos was discovered in 1996. Since then, it has been observed many times by astronomers. Didymos is a binary asteroid, and its moon is called Dimorphos, meaning twin in Greek.
The earliest studies of the Didymos suggested that the impact of a spacecraft could cause the orbit of the asteroid moon to change. However, the lack of solid theoretical work led to a number of studies to address this question. The result was a lot of theoretical models, each with different assumptions and properties. The current study is the first to combine all these models into a single code and parametrize them with the observations of the binary system.
Related Article: NASA: DART Mission to Change Motion of Hazardous Asteroid? NASA Clarifies This Story
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Written by April Fowell
