Researchers found that the powerful impact completely changed the asteroid’s appearance.
Two years ago, NASA successfully tested a planetary defense system in space. The DART mission was placed on a collision course with the asteroid Dimorph, a small moon of the asteroid Didymus. According to IFLScience, the mission was successful and humanity changed the orbit of a celestial body for the first time.
The tests went so well that even Dimorph’s appearance may have changed.
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On September 26, 2022, the DART vehicle fired its engines and crashed into Dimorph. DART was expected to shorten the orbital time around the asteroid Didymos by seven minutes. In fact, it was possible to shorten this time by more than 33 minutes. The impact also sent rocks flying away from the asteroid, and these were detected by several telescopes.
The results exceeded all expectations, but it is important to understand how it is possible to change the movement of this body so much. Researchers have managed to run a series of simulations of Dimorph’s properties, and a pretty dramatic picture is now being painted.
The density of the dimorph and the rocks that make up its surface were estimated based on data DART collected before the impact. When combined with other data, the researchers found that Dimorph is a pile of rocks similar to asteroids Ryugu and Bennu, which have also been visited by other space missions.
Scientists believe Dimorph is a clump of material shed by fellow asteroid Didymos as it rotates. Therefore, Dimorph behaved extremely strangely when hit by the DART device. Essentially, the impact changed Dimorph’s appearance forever, but didn’t leave an impact crater.
The diameter of the dimorph is about 160 meters compared to Didymus’ 780 meters. DART’s high speed of 6.6 km/s provided enough energy to change the asteroid’s appearance forever. But the material that makes up the Dimorph is so loose that the impact caused a restructuring of the entire asteroid. There were no craters left as the entire asteroid shifted around the impact site.
This has happened before, when another OSIRIS-REx probe landed on the surface of asteroid Bennu to take soil samples. It sank into the loose material that formed the asteroid.
The European Space Agency is expected to launch a follow-up mission called Hera, which will study the new configuration of the system. Researchers are confident that Hera will find the modified asteroid but not the crater.
Let’s remember what happened to the stones thrown into space after the collision with the DART apparatus. This debris was observed by both ground-based telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope. It was the LICIACube probe, which separated from the DART instrument shortly before the “space accident”, that also observed the consequences of the impact.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.