The DART (Double Asteroid Redirect Test) mission from NASA, launched in November 2021, is designed for a small spacecraft to collide with Dimorphos, a small asteroid companion to a larger one called Didymos. The collision should occur in September of this year. The idea is to avoid a violent and potentially fatal clash between him and the Earth in the future.
Check now for more information about this mission, which aims to carry out the asteroid collision to protect Earth!
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Purpose of DART
The DART mission, which translates to the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, was launched in November last year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Therefore, its objective is precisely to divert the asteroid that comes towards Earth to protect it.
In current times, there is no such close threat, but we must be prepared if an asteroid collides with our planet. Thus, this asteroid is the perfect target to evaluate the effectiveness of spacecraft like DART to deflect one celestial body from another.
Impact may be greater than expected
According to a recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Bern and the Center National Research Competence Center (NCCR) PlanetS test could drastically deform asteroid Dimorphos.
According to experts, the impact of DART on Dimorphos should occur sometime in September 2022, but depending on its composition, the DART mission may eventually warp it, including the chance of deorbiting it more than calculated in the period prior to the launch.
New studies and methods
Experts explain that one of the reasons why this situation of loose internal structure was not fully studied so far is that the necessary methods are not yet available, but this is about to to change.
With a new modeling approach, which considers the propagation of shock waves, compaction and subsequent flow of material, through For the first time, scientists were able to model the entire process of crater formation caused by the impact of asteroids such as the Dimorphos. The European Space Agency will send a space probe to the asteroid to visually investigate the aftermath of the DART impact in 2024.
