We're less than a month out from impact.
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft just beamed back the first image of its target, the moonlet Dimorphos, as well as its body it orbits, the asteroid Didymos . DART is a planetary defense test mission designed to impact the moonlet to alter its trajectory around Didymos. If proven effective, this spacecraft design could potentially be scaled up to deflect an Earth-bound asteroid . — they are a test site for the kinetic impact technology.
The image, which is a composite of 243 individual images, comes from DART's sole instrument, the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation ; it was taken on July 27 and released on Wednesday . It shows both Dimorphos and Didymos as a single point of light — the spacecraft was still 20 million miles away from the asteroids at that point, so they appear indistinguishable.
Ultimately, DART will use DRACO to navigate to its impact site completely independently of its Earth-based controllers. But for now, humans are in charge. Over the next three weeks, the team will use images taken every five hours to make a series of three trajectory correction maneuvers that put DART on a precise path to Didymos. Then, within about 24 hours of impact, DART will take control to fine-tune its final approach.— Just how many threatening asteroids are there? It's complicated.
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