In September 2022, NASA\u2019s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully slammed into the side of asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. Initial data from the event indicated that DART had successfully altered the orbit of Dimorphos and achieved its primary mission goal \u2014 to assess how much a spacecraft could deflect an asteroid through a transfer of momentum.<\/p>\n
However, data analysis didn\u2019t stop, and DART\u2019s science team has released new results and information on why DART was so effective in changing Dimorphos\u2019 orbit and the origins of Dimorphos and its binary asteroid system.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The new results and information were released via five new papers published in Nature Communications<\/em>. In the papers, DART\u2019s science team explored the geology of Dimorphos and its parent asteroid, Didymos, to characterize the origins of the asteroids and their binary system. Additionally, the team\u2019s research allowed them to learn more about how the binary system evolved and constrain the physical characteristics of the asteroids.<\/p>\n \u201cThese findings give us new insights into the ways that asteroids can change over time. This is important not just for understanding the near-Earth objects that are the focus of planetary defense, but also for our ability to read the history of our Solar System from these remnants of planet formation. This is just part of the wealth of new knowledge we\u2019ve gained from DART,\u201d said Thomas Statler, who serves as the lead scientist for Solar System Small Bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n