The DART mission is due to hit the asteroid Dimorphos this Monday, September 26, 2022. The impact, which occurs 11 million kilometers from our planet, can be followed live.
A probe is currently heading towards an asteroid, on which it will crash. But, this is not a problem: on the contrary, it is the very objective of the DART mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or “test of deviation of a double asteroid”). Almost a year after the DART mission launched into space, the big day of impact is approaching. It is on Monday, September 26 that the spacecraft must intentionally crash into its target, with the objective of modifying the orbit of the asteroid.
Watch the DART probe zoom into the asteroid Dimorphos live
The event can be followed online and live, overnight. It will be possible to follow first the final approach of the probe to the asteroid, then the moment of the crash itself.
- When ? Monday, September 26, 2022, from 11:30 p.m. (Paris time);
- Where ? On the NASA YouTube channel, first here, then there (from midnight);
- What ? The impact of NASA’s DART mission, on the surface of the asteroid Dimorphos, to test a method of deflecting the trajectory of an asteroid that would threaten our planet.
Objective: disrupt the asteroid’s orbit, then observe this change
The DART probe began sighting its target on September 7. The mission targets a binary system, composed of Didymos and its satellite. This moon, dubbed Dimorphos, is the perfect asteroid for NASA’s deviation test. When Dimorphos revolves around Didymos, it passes in front and behind it from our point of view.
This movement should facilitate the observation of a change in the orbit of Dimorphos, which we wish to cause with the impact of DART. Moreover, it turns out that at the time of the crash, the distance between the two asteroids and our planet is minimal: 11 million kilometers. Terrestrial telescopes will be able to monitor the pair of asteroids.
Neither Dimorphos nor Didymos pose any real danger to Earth. This is not the case with any known asteroid, for that matter. This does not prevent us from wondering what humanity would do if one of these celestial objects were to threaten us one day. Asteroid impact simulation exercises are thus organised. It is also in this perspective that the DART mission was launched. The impact of the probe will be used to better manage the risk posed by near-Earth asteroids, which can evolve not far from Earth.
Before impact, you can monitor the DART mission countdown. To get a better idea of the size of the two asteroids, you can also check out this scaling of Didymos and Dimorphos.