NASA's DART Spacecraft Smackdown Reveals Asteroid's 12 Million Year Old Secrets
Since the DART spacecraft smashed into asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, changing its orbit and shape, five published papers have explored the geology of the binary asteroid system. The data collected during the mission helped science teams to characterize the asteroids’ origin and evolution and constrain its physical characteristics. One paper, which analyzed the geology of both asteroids, drew conclusions about their surface materials and interior properties. Another paper compared the shapes and sizes of the various boulders and their distribution patterns on the two asteroids’ surfaces, determining the physical characteristics of Dimorphos show it formed in stages, likely of material inherited from its parent Didymos.
“These findings give us new insights into the ways that asteroids can change over time,” remarked Thomas Statler, lead scientist for Solar System Small Bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “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’ve gained from DART.”
According to NASA, one research team was able to observe the smaller asteroid Dimorphos’ topography using images captured by DART and its accompanying LICIACube cubesat, which featured boulders of varying sizes. Didymos, in comparison, was smoother at lower elevations, though rocky at higher elevations, also with more craters than its moonlet Dimorphos. The team inferred that Dimorphos likely spun off from Didymos in a “large mass shedding event.”
“The images and data that DART collected at the Didymos system provided a unique opportunity for a close-up geological look of a near-Earth asteroid binary system,” remarked Olivier Barnouin of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “From these images alone, we were able to infer a great deal of information on geophysical properties of both Didymos and Dimorphos and expand our understanding on the formation of these two asteroids. We also better understand why DART was so effective in moving Dimorphos.”
The latest findings from the DART mission are thought to bring a more robust overview of the origins of the Didymos system, as well as add to the understanding of how such planetary bodies were formed. The European Space Agency is preparing to launch its HERA mission, which will further analyze the aftermath of the first-ever planetary defense test, and potentially lend even more insight.
