NASA and WSU | Graphic by Emily Lewis | The Wright State Guardian
On Sept. 26, 2022, a kinetic impactor simulation from the national space program successfully collided with its target, leaving many hopeful about the future of planetary protection.
What is DART?
According to a press release from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test is a mission to test defense mechanisms for Earth against potential space impact, such as an asteroid or comet.
The target of the spacecraft was a “moonlet” known as Dimorphos, which orbits the larger asteroid Didymos. The John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, a partner in the craft and maintenance of the mission, announced that the spacecraft had made impact with a small satellite at 7:14 p.m. EDT, based on a report from NASA.
Dimorphos and Didymos do not pose a threat to Earth, yet the successful redirection of the small asteroid bodes well for the future of planetary defense.
“As NASA studies the cosmos and our home planet, we’re also working to protect that home, and this international collaboration turned science fiction into science fact, demonstrating one way to protect Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in the report.
According to NASA’s announcement, the next immediate steps will provide a measurement of how much Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos changed after the impact of DART. This data will provide knowledge for the future, particularly if Earth is ever in the crosshairs of a rogue asteroid or comet.
WSU opinions
Brad Kerry, President of Astronomical Collaboration at Wright State University, is looking forward to where planetary defense and exploration can go from here.
“Part of space exploration is pushing the bounds,” Kerry said. “We’ll be able to mine asteroids, mine comets, all that kind of stuff.”
Kerry’s enthusiasm about the project and where it could go in the future is reciprocated by individuals working at NASA, who will collaborate with the European Space Agency’s Hera project to examine the mission’s impact in four years' time and improve further scientific models.
