dimorphos
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The Asteroid Dimorphos Looks Totally Different After NASA’s DART Mission Walloped It
In September 2022, a NASA spacecraft smashed into a tiny asteroid to nudge it off its orbital course. The mission was a success in testing an asteroid deflection method that may come in handy one day, but rather than leaving behind an impact crater, the orbital collision changed the shape of the target asteroid altogether,…
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NASA’s DART Mission Is Going to Really Mess Up This Tiny Asteroid
In order to protect the Earth, some sacrifices must be made. NASA’s DART spacecraft is currently on its way to a binary asteroid system known as Didymos and will essentially crash into one tiny asteroid to test out a deflection method. But rather than leaving behind an impact crater as initially intended, the DART spacecraft…
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The Spacecraft That’s Going to Smash Into an Asteroid Just Sent Back Its First Pictures
It’s been a month since the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission launched on its way to the binary asteroid system of Didymos and Dimorphos. DART captured its first images three weeks ago, an important operational milestone as the spacecraft hurtles toward a collision with Dimorphos.