NASA's DART mission successfully altered asteroid Dimorphos' trajectory and orbital period in September 2022.
NASA's DART spacecraft mission successfully changed the trajectory and shape of the asteroid Dimorphos after impacting it in September 2022. The study revealed that Dimorphos, a moonlet of the near-Earth asteroid Didymos, is a rubble-pile composition, allowing it to deform easily. The impact reduced Dimorphos' orbital period by 33 minutes and 15 seconds and its average orbital distance from Didymos by about 120 feet. The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft is set to launch in October and reach the two asteroids in late 2026 to further investigate their changes.
March 19, 2024
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