2024-02-28 19:43:46
The impact of the Dart space probe on an asteroid did much more than change its orbit. Swiss researchers have now analyzed the data in detail.
The force of the impact of the US space probe Dart not only changed the orbit of the asteroid moon Dimorphos, but also its shape. This emerges from analyzes of the data collected and computer simulations by an international research team.
Accordingly, Dimorphos is not a solid body, but just a loosely packed pile of rubble, the team writes in the journal “Nature Astronomy”.
Dart hit the asteroid moon Dimorphos, which is only 160 meters wide, on September 26, 2022 at a speed of around 23,000 kilometers per hour. The mission was unique in the history of space travel.
Celestial bodies easily accessible for space probes
Dart – the abbreviation stands for “Double Asteroid Redirection Test” – was intended to answer the question of whether asteroids that are threateningly approaching the Earth on their orbit can be sufficiently deflected by an artificial impact.
The probe set off for the 780-meter-large asteroid Didymos on November 24, 2021. The celestial body orbits the sun close to Earth’s orbit and is therefore easily accessible for space probes.
More importantly, it has a moon, Dimorphos – the actual target of the mission – whose orbit could be precisely measured both before and after the impact. With a single asteroid, it would not have been possible to determine the impact of the collision with such precision.
New mission to further investigate impacts
“The impact was successful and highly effective,” explain Sabina Raducan and her colleagues from the University of Bern in Switzerland. And it was surprisingly effective: the orbital period of Dimorphos around Didymos changed by 33 minutes – the scientists had expected a maximum of 10 minutes.
The European Space Agency Esa plans to launch the Hera mission in October this year to further study the effects of the Dart impact. In 2026, Hera is scheduled to enter an orbit around Didymos and then examine its moon using numerous instruments.