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There are now only a few days to go to the most important moment of the history NASA DART mission that I will try to hit theasteroid Dimorphos to modify the orbital velocity with respect to Didymos (the latter is the largest of the double system). A fundamental moment in which Italy too will have a leading role thanks to Cubesat LICIACube realized by Argotec on behalf ofASI (Italian Space Agency).

A few days ago, the small satellite separated from the NASA probe to begin its journey alone (but always in the vicinity of the US satellite). This “only” a demonstration mission because the double system of Didymos-Dimorphos asteroids it does not represent a danger to planet Earth and it will not be even once the mission is completed (the impact expected on the night between 26 and 27 September). Knowing how to change the orbit of an object is a danger to the Planet is fundamental because solutions to “Armageddon” they work well in movies, but less so in reality.
The first images of the Italian Cubesat LICIACube
In the past few hours the first images that the Italian satellite he captured in Space and which also visually demonstrate how the Cubesat are in excellent health and are ready to resume the impact of NASA DART against the asteroid. The privileged view will allow for details impossible to capture from Earth, even if in the future the binary system will still be monitored through telescopes.

According to as reported fromASI the images published in the past few hours have been captured by cameras LEIA And LUKE which are integrated within LICIACube. These are the first images of an Italian satellite that is traveling in deep space. In particular, the first camera captured an image of the Earth which is shown as one “crescent moon” while the second has taken up the iconic constellation of the Pleiades.
Accustomed to the images of the JWST these two photographs may not look like “special” but we must remember that LICIACube, as explained above, it will have other tasks and will be no less important for the future of humanity. The satellite is located about 14 million km away from Earth and the first time that a unit built in Italy has gone so far. There are therefore only a few hours of waiting before seeing one “cosmic clash” with Italy that will have a front row seat.
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