For the first time in history, a man-made spacecraft crashed into an asteroid to test whether it was possible to influence the trajectory of a celestial body in this way - it is expected that in the future this will help protect the Earth from potential threats from space. The NASA Double Asteroid Rendezvous Test (DART) probe "attacked" the Dimorph asteroid, located 11 million km from our planet.
The collision happened at 02:14 Moscow time last night. The purpose of the test was to change the orbit of Dimorph, orbiting the larger asteroid Didyma, in order to prove that humanity, in principle, is capable of responding to threats from space. The asteroids Dimorph and Didyme themselves do not pose a threat to the Earth.
According to a NASA spokesman, the test was successful, and "earthlings can sleep more peacefully." NASA joked that the dinosaurs, supposedly extinct after the Earth collided with an asteroid 65 million years ago, did not have a space program, but the current inhabitants of the Earth have one. The probe, the size of a golf cart and weighing 570 kg, crashed into Dimorph at a speed of about 22,530 km/h. NASA hoped that the collision would shorten Dimorph's orbit around the larger body.
It is reported that the planned collision took place in the normal mode, so the scientists did not have to resort to any of the 21 backup plans that were in stock, and most of the actions were performed by the probe in automatic mode. The concept design of the mission was presented back in 2011, and its launch took place on November 23, 2021. Until the moment of impact, the main camera of the probe regularly sent images of an approaching object to Earth. In the end, the broadcast was interrupted at the moment of the collision.
"Kinetic impact" is still the main method proposed by scientists to change the orbit of asteroids. Although the risk of the Earth colliding with a celestial body of significant size is relatively small, it is quite real. NASA has already discovered many asteroids that could potentially pose a threat to our planet. A new space telescope, the Near Earth Object Surveyor, specifically designed to detect relevant objects, could be sent into space in 2026.
The binary system of Dimorphus and Didymus was chosen for the test for a specific reason - the orbital period of the first around the second is only 11 hours and 55 minutes, so any changes in the orbit will be noticed fairly quickly. Although the system is classified as "potentially dangerous", in fact it does not pose any threat to the Earth. DART is expected to accelerate Dimorph in its orbit by about 10 minutes. According to NASA, the "minimum requirement" was 73 seconds, but scientists expect a more significant change in the speed of movement.
The first observation results will be received today. Scientists expect that as a result of the collision, a crater with a diameter of about 20 m will appear on the asteroid. Before the collision, DART released a small CubeSat LICIACube, designed to record the consequences of the collision. It is expected that relevant photos will appear with scientists in a few days, since this device does not have a large antenna for fast data transmission. Numerous space and ground telescopes are also monitoring how much Dimorph has accelerated in its orbit.
It is known that the European Space Agency (ESA) also intends to send its own mission to the Didim-Dimorph binary system. The Hera mission envisions sending a spacecraft to the asteroid in 2024, and by 2027 it will already be in orbit around the system for observing objects and the crater left by the collision with DART.
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