NASA DART has changed the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos, it’s official

When there was theimpact between the NASA DART space probe (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) andasteroid Dimorphos one of the most frequently asked questions was “but then the test was successful?”. Unfortunately, it was not possible to know in the moments immediately following the test, although we knew that the satellite had actually collided correctly with the celestial body as expected. Now we have the official confirmation: yes, the test was successful. The orbital period of Dimorphos it has been modified.

Recall that this was just a test. The chosen target was a dual system consisting of two called asteroids Didymos And Dimorphos with the first having a diameter of about 780 meters while the second is about 163 meters. The system both before and after the impact does not constitute a danger to the Earth and that is why it was the subject of the test of the US space agency (observed at a short distance from the small Cubesat LICIACube of ASI made by Argotec). Here’s what we know.

NASA DART’s test against the asteroid was successful

The space agency officially reported that the test it has been successful. There NASA wrote that “The spacecraft’s kinetic impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, successfully altered the asteroid’s orbit”. This is the first planetary protection test that has been put in place and the first test that has also been successful. This will allow scientists and engineers to understand how this could actually be possible change L’orbit of a object that it should be in collision course with Earth (and it won’t go like Hollywood movies).

Specifically they knew that the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos had a duration of 11 hours and 55 minutes. After the collision of NASA DART which took place on 27 September at 1:14 (in Italy), on the other hand, the orbital period has a duration of 11 hours and 23 minutes with an uncertainty of +/- 2 minutes. 32 minutes of difference which still represent an important result. The same NASA had estimated that the orbit would have changed by 73 seconds, this means that in reality things went differently (for the better) and that therefore there will be new models to be built.

Bill Nelson (NASA administrator) said “We all have a responsibility to protect our home planet. After all, it is the only one we have. This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us. NASA has proven that we are serious. as defenders of the planet. This is a watershed moment for planetary defense and for all of humanity, demonstrating the commitment of the exceptional NASA team and partners around the world. “.

In addition to changing the orbital period, scientists are analyzing the dust that has risen and been dispersed into space to understand how the asteroid has “reacted” to the impact of NASA DART. It is important to know the constitution of the asteroid itself (there are different types in the Universe) and therefore how the scenarios could change according to the target. Nancy Chabot (of APL) stated “The DART team is continuing to work on this rich dataset to fully understand this first planetary defense test in asteroid deflection.”.

The contribution of LICIACube of ASI. His images, captured with a privileged view, will be able to give further data to study in particular regarding the surface, the ejected material and more. Then there will be the data collected by ESA’s HERA mission which will closely analyze the point of impact of NASA DART. To understand the dispersed material just think that the “tail” shown in the Hubble images is about 10,000 kilometers long. If humanity can survive a potential impact from a celestial body, it will also be thanks to this mission.

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