The NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission performed a kinetic impact on asteroid Dimorphos, the satellite of the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, at 23:14 UTC on 26 September 2022 as a planetary defence test1. DART was the first hypervelocity impact experiment on an asteroid at size and velocity scales relevant to planetary defence, intended to validate kinetic impact as a means of asteroid deflection. Here we report a determination of the momentum transferred to an asteroid by kinetic impact. On the basis of the change in the binary orbit period2, we find an instantaneous reduction in Dimorphos’s along-track orbital velocity component of 2.70 ± 0.10 mm s−1, indicating enhanced momentum transfer due to recoil from ejecta streams produced by the impact3,4. For a Dimorphos bulk density range of 1,500 to 3,300 kg m−3, we find that the expected value of the momentum enhancement factor, β, ranges between 2.2 and 4.9, depending on the mass of Dimorphos. If Dimorphos and Didymos are assumed to have equal densities of 2,400 kg m−3, $${\beta =3.61}_{-0.25}^{+0.19}(1\sigma )$$ β = 3.61 − 0.25 + 0.19 ( 1 σ ) . These β values indicate that substantially more momentum was transferred to Dimorphos from the escaping impact ejecta than was incident with DART. Therefore, the DART kinetic impact was highly effective in deflecting the asteroid Dimorphos.
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft is planned to impact the natural satellite of (65803) Didymos, Dimorphos, at around 23:14 UTC on 2022 September 26, causing a reduction in its orbital period that will be measurable with ground-based observations. This test of kinetic impactor technology will provide the first estimate of the momentum transfer enhancement factor β at a realistic scale, wherein the ejecta from the impact provide an additional deflection to the target. Earth-based observations, the LICIACube spacecraft (to be detached from DART prior to impact), and ESA’s follow-up Hera mission, to launch in 2024, will provide additional characterizations of the deflection test. Together, Hera and DART comprise the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment cooperation between NASA and ESA. Here, the predicted dynamical states of the binary system upon arrival and after impact are presented. The assumed dynamically relaxed state of the system will be excited by the impact, leading to an increase in eccentricity and a slight tilt of the orbit, together with enhanced libration of Dimorphos, with the amplitude dependent on the currently poorly known target shape. Free rotation around the moon’s long axis may also be triggered, and the orbital period will experience variations from seconds to minutes over timescales of days to months. Shape change of either body, due to cratering or mass wasting triggered by crater formation and ejecta, may affect β, but can be constrained through additional measurements. Both BYORP and gravity tides may cause measurable orbital changes on the timescale of Hera’s rendezvous.
Proximity observations by OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 provided clues on the shape evolution processes of the target asteroids, (101955) Bennu and (162173) Ryugu. Their oblate shapes with equatorial ridges, or the so-called top shapes, may have evolved due to their rotational conditions at present and in the past. Different shape evolution scenarios were previously proposed; Bennu's top shape may have been driven by surface processing, while Ryugu's may have been developed due to large deformation. These two scenarios seem to be inconsistent. Here, we revisit the structural analyses in earlier works and fill a gap to connect these explanations. We also apply a semi-analytical technique for computing the cohesive strength distribution in a uniformly rotating triaxial ellipsoid to characterize the global failure of top-shaped bodies. Assuming that the structure is uniform, our semi-analytical approach describes the spatial variations in failed regions at different spin periods; surface regions are the most sensitive at longer spin periods, while interiors fail structurally at shorter spin periods. This finding suggests that the shape evolution of a top shape may vary due to rotation and internal structure, which can explain the different evolution scenarios of Bennu's and Ryugu's top shapes. We interpret our results as the indications of top shapes' various evolution processes. Highlights • We reanalyzed results from FEM analyses for asteroids Bennu and Ryugu, the targets of OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2, respectively. • We also applied a semi-analytical approach to quantify how the failure modes of top shapes vary with spin. • Top shapes may evolve by two deformation modes: surface processing at low spin and internal failure at high spin.
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is the first full-scale planetary defense mission. The target is the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, in which the smaller component Dimorphos (∼164 m equivalent diameter) orbits the larger component Didymos (∼780 m equivalent diameter). The DART spacecraft will impact Dimorphos, changing the system’s mutual orbit by an amount that correlates with DART's kinetic deflection capability. The spacecraft collision with Dimorphos creates an impact crater, which reshapes the body. Also, some particles ejected from the DART impact site on Dimorphos eventually reach Didymos. Because Didymos’s rapid spin period (2.26 hr) may be close to its stability limit for structural failure, the ejecta reaching Didymos may induce surface disturbance on Didymos. While large uncertainties exist, nonnegligible reshaping scenarios on Didymos and Dimorphos are possible if certain conditions are met. Our analysis shows that given a surface slope uncertainty on Dimorphos of 45°, with no other information about its local topography, and if the DART-like impactor is treated as spherical, the ejecta cone crosses Didymos with speeds ≳14 m s−1 in 13% of simulations. Additional work is necessary to determine the amount of mass delivered to Didymos from the DART impact and whether the amount of kinetic energy delivered is sufficient to overcome cohesive forces in those cases. If nonnegligible (but small) reshaping occurs for either of these asteroids, the resulting orbit perturbation and reshaping are measurable by Earth-based observations.
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