Part 1: NASA’s DART Mission – They REALLY Did Crash Into An Asteroid!

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) command team at Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory celebrating the successful impact of the DART spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos. Photo credit: NASA/JHUAPL

Yes indeed, planetary defense is a very real thing. NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab proved it right before our eyes on September 26, 2022 with the successful crash of the DART satellite into an asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth.

The best part for me? I was there at Johns Hopkins APL (right there in the room where it happened) at the moment of the spectacular impact!

There is a lot of good stuff to tell about my experience, and I don’t think it will fit into one post. So, for the first time on Refreshing Talk, this will be a two-part post. I will share about the mission in this post in the first post. In the second installment, I will share what it was like to attend this particular NASA social event.

So, let’s start with Part 1 – The DART Mission!

What is the DART (The Double Asteroid Redirection Test) Mission and What Did It Do?

Developed and led for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, DART  demonstrated the planetary defense technique known as kinetic impact. The DART spacecraft, which launched on November 24, 2021, successfully slammed into an asteroid to hopefully shift its orbit, taking a critical step in demonstrating ways to protect our planet from a potentially hazardous impact.

DART targeted a binary asteroid system consisting of Didymos, about a half-mile across, and its smaller companion called Dimorphos, about 530 feet across. DART used an autonomous targeting system to aim itself at Dimorphos. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a small car, struck the smaller body at about 4 miles per second on September 26, 2022.  {Info source: Johns Hopkins APL}

How Did It Go?

The mission was a success indeed! The spacecraft hit the targeted Dimorphos square on, just at the time that was predicted. See the last 5 1/2 minutes of images of the mission, condensed down to 39 seconds, courtesy of Johns Hopkins APL:

 

What Does It Mean For The Inhabitants of Earth?

“As a part of NASA’s overall planetary defense strategy, DART’s impact with the asteroid Dimorphos demonstrates a viable mitigation technique for protecting the planet from an Earth-bound asteroid or comet, if one were discovered. The mission’s one-way trip confirmed NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid to deflect it, a technique known as kinetic impact.” (https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-dart-mission-hits-asteroid-in-first-ever-planetary-defense-test)

What Happens Next?

According to NASA, “The investigation team will now observe Dimorphos using ground-based telescopes to confirm that DART’s impact altered the asteroid’s orbit around Didymos. Researchers expect the impact to shorten Dimorphos’ orbit by about 1%, or roughly 10 minutes; precisely measuring how much the asteroid was deflected is one of the primary purposes of the full-scale test.”

Here is the reaction in the room as DART hit its intended target. Start at time stamp 2:35 to get the super exciting part!

Congratulations to NASA and the Johns Hopkins APL team – mission accomplished and well done. Stay tuned everyone for Part 2 to get some insights into attending a NASA Social event!