Planetary defense with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and prospects

Andrew S Rivkin; Andrew F Cheng

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35561-2

Planetary defense with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and prospects

Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 1;14(1):1003. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35561-2.

Authors

Andrew S Rivkin¹, Andrew F Cheng²

Affiliations

¹ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA. andy.rivkin@jhuapl.edu.
² Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA.

Abstract

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission intentionally impacted the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, and this kinetic impact changed Dimorphos’ orbit around its binary companion Didymos. This first planetary defense test explored technological readiness for this method of asteroid deflection.

Grants and funding

Contract No. 80MSFC20D0004/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)