DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) is a NASA mission that aims to neutralize asteroids
In 2022, a DART spacecraft probe was launched to intentionally collide with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. which belonged to the parent asteroid Didymos. The spacecraft was successful in shifting Dimorphos’ orbit
The DART mission served to provide a lot of information that scientists are studying to understand more of the binary asteroid system and how Earth can prepare to shield itself from threats like these
- The geology of Dimorphos and Didymos was studied from images captured by DART and the LICIACube cubesat. It was found that Dimorphos’ topography featured boulders of different sizes while Didymos was smoother at lower elevations. The inference was that Dimorphos spun off from Didymos in a large mass-shedding event
- Dimorphos and Didymos had weak surfaces that was responsible for DART’s significant impact on them
ESA is launching the Hera mission on 2026 to study the aftermath of DART’s collision