What is DART and How to Become a Planetary Defender?
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the world’s first mission to test technology for defending Earth against potential asteroid or comet hazards, will impact its target asteroid—which poses no threat to Earth—at 7:14 p.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 26. DART is the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact.
DART’s target is the binary, near-Earth asteroid system Didymos, composed of the roughly 780-meter-diameter “Didymos” and the smaller, approximately 160-meter-size “Dimorphos,” which orbits Didymos. Because DART will impact Dimorphos to change its orbit within the binary system, the DART Investigation Team will compare the results of DART’s kinetic impact with Dimorphos to highly detailed computer simulations of kinetic impacts on asteroids. As a result, Everyone can support the DART mission by becoming a “Planetary Defender!” Participants who take a short quiz with 5 questions will earn a certificate and badge they can download, print, and share on social media.
Understanding the dynamics of Dimorphos’ orbit:
However, understanding the dynamics of Dimorphos’ orbit is important for reasons beyond ensuring DART’s impact. If DART succeeds in altering Dimorphos’ path, the moonlet will move closer toward Didymos, shortening the time it takes to orbit it. Measuring that change is straightforward, but scientists need to confirm that nothing other than the impact is affecting the orbit. This includes subtle forces such as radiation recoil from the asteroid’s Sun-warmed surface, which can gently push on the asteroid and cause its orbit to change.
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More information: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invites-media-to-witness-world-s-first-planetary-defense-test
https://www.nasa.gov/specials/pdco/index.html#dart
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/dart-team-confirms-orbit-of-targeted-asteroid
