NASA's DART mission altered shape of asteroid it crashed into, scientists reveal
NASA DART crashes into asteroid
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft that was deliberately crashed into an asteroid may havereshaped the celestial body by its impact from a squat orb into a flat-topped oval, like an M&M candy., scientists have discovered.
Investigation into the spacecraft's collision with the asteroidnamed Dimorphos, published in Nature Astronomy,has found that DART's impact was so severe that instead of anormal, bowl-shaped crater, something resembling a dent was formed on the widened surface.
Simulations run by the scientists showed that between 0.5 per cent and one per cent ofDimorphos' mass was ejected due to DART's impact, while eight per cent of its mass was redistributed.
"The material properties and structure of Dimorphos as derived in this study suggests the small moon likely formed through rotational mass shedding and re-accumulation from Didymos," saidSabina Raducan, a scientist at the University of Bern who led the study.
The study corroborates whatthe European Space Agency, James Webb and Hubble said after DART successfully crashed into Dimorphos.
At the time,an image taken by James Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) four hours after impact showed"plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from the centre of where the impact took place".
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DART changes Dimorphos' orbit
After the successful impact, NASA released aseries of satellite-acquired images, and radar images amongst other indicators to show that the harmless asteroid, millions of miles away fromEarth was slotted away from its original orbit.
"Analysis of data obtained over the past two weeks by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) investigation team shows the spacecraft's kinetic impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, successfully altered the asteroid’s orbit," said the premier space agency in a statement.
The $325 million DART spacecraft was the first attempt to move any natural object in space. It waslaunched in November 2021 and developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.
Read more:Asteroid struck by NASA spacecraft leaves a 10,000 km trail in its wake
The primary aim of DART was to test planetary defence methods in case a civilisation-threatening object hurtled towards the planet. The tech employed by DART may have been primitive but it has provided a base for the scientists to further their research to prepare and stave off rogue space bodies.
(With inputs from agencies)