{"id":11559,"date":"2024-07-30T18:02:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T22:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-dart-mission-sheds-new-light-on-target-binary-asteroid-system\/"},"modified":"2024-07-30T18:02:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T22:02:07","slug":"nasas-dart-mission-sheds-new-light-on-target-binary-asteroid-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-dart-mission-sheds-new-light-on-target-binary-asteroid-system\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s DART Mission Sheds New Light on Target Binary Asteroid System"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s DART Mission Sheds New Light on Target Binary Asteroid System<\/h2>\n

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5 min read<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s DART Mission Sheds New Light on Target Binary Asteroid System<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"The<\/a><\/figure>
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The various geological features observed on Didymos helped researchers tell the story of Didymos\u2019 origins. The asteroid\u2019s triangular ridge (first panel from left), and the so-called smooth region, and its likely older, rougher \u201chighland\u201d region (second panel from left) can be explained through a combination of slope processes controlled by elevation (third panel from left). The fourth panel shows the effects of spin-up disruption that Didymos likely underwent to form Dimorphos.<\/div>\n
Credit: Johns Hopkins APL\/Olivier Barnouin<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In studying data collected from NASA\u2019s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)\u00a0mission, which in 2022 sent a spacecraft to\u00a0intentionally collide<\/a>\u00a0with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, the mission\u2019s science team has discovered new information on the origins of the target binary asteroid system and why the DART spacecraft was so effective in shifting Dimorphos\u2019 orbit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In five recently published papers in Nature Communications, the team explored the geology of the\u00a0binary asteroid system<\/a>,\u00a0comprising moonlet Dimorphos and parent asteroid Didymos, to characterize its origin and evolution and constrain its physical characteristics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings give us new insights into the ways that asteroids can change over time,\u201d said Thomas Statler, lead scientist for Solar System Small Bodies at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cThis is important not just for understanding the near-Earth objects that are the focus of planetary defense, but also for our ability to read the history of our Solar System from these remnants of planet formation. This is just part of the wealth of new knowledge we\u2019ve gained from DART.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olivier Barnouin and Ronald-Louis Ballouz of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, led a paper that analyzed the geology of both asteroids and drew conclusions about their surface materials and interior properties. From images captured by DART and its accompanying LICIACube cubesat \u2013 contributed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the team observed the smaller asteroid Dimorphos\u2019 topography, which featured boulders of varying sizes. In comparison, the larger asteroid Didymos was smoother at lower elevations, though rocky at higher elevations, with more craters than Dimorphos. The authors inferred that Dimorphos likely spun off from Didymos in a large mass shedding event.<\/p>\n

There are natural processes that can accelerate the spins of small asteroids, and there is growing evidence that these processes may be responsible for re-shaping these bodies or even forcing material to be spun off their surfaces.<\/p>\n

Analysis suggested that both Didymos and Dimorphos have weak surface characteristics, which led the team to posit that Didymos has a surface age 40\u2013130 times older than Dimorphos, with the former estimated to be 12.5 million years and the latter less than 300,000 years old. The low surface strength of Dimorphos likely contributed to DART\u2019s\u00a0significant impact on its orbit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe images and data that DART collected at the Didymos system provided a unique opportunity for a close-up geological look of a near-Earth asteroid binary system,\u201d said Barnouin. \u201cFrom these images alone, we were able to infer a great deal of information on geophysical properties of both Didymos and Dimorphos and expand our understanding on the formation of these two asteroids. We also better understand why DART was so effective in moving Dimorphos.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Based on the internal and surface properties described in Barnouin et al. (2024), this video demonstrates how the spin-up of asteroid Didymos could have led to the growth of its equatorial ridge and the formation of the smaller asteroid Dimorphos, seen orbiting the former near the end of the clip. Particles are colored according to their speeds, with the scale shown at the top, along with the continually changing spin period of Didymos.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Credit: University of Michigan\/Yun Zhang and Johns Hopkins APL\/Olivier Barnouin<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Maurizio Pajola, of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) in Rome,\u00a0and co-authors led a paper\u00a0comparing the shapes and sizes of the various boulders and their distribution patterns on the two asteroids\u2019 surfaces. They determined the physical characteristics of Dimorphos indicate it formed in stages, likely of material inherited from its parent asteroid Didymos. That conclusion\u00a0reinforces the prevailing theory that\u00a0some binary asteroid systems arise from shed remnants of a larger primary asteroid accumulating into a new asteroid moonlet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alice Lucchetti, also of INAF,\u00a0and colleagues found that thermal fatigue \u2014 the gradual weakening and cracking of a material caused by heat \u2014 could rapidly break up boulders on the surface of Dimorphos, generating surface lines and altering the physical characteristics of this type of asteroid more quickly than previously thought. The DART mission was likely the first observation of such a phenomenon on this type of asteroid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supervised by researcher Naomi Murdoch\u00a0of\u00a0ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse, France, and colleagues, a paper led by students\u00a0Jeanne Bigot and Pauline Lombardo\u00a0determined Didymos\u2019 bearing capacity \u2014 the surface\u2019s ability to support applied loads \u2014 to be at least 1,000 times lower than that of dry sand on Earth or lunar soil. This is considered an\u00a0important parameter for understanding and predicting the response of a surface, including for the purposes of displacing an asteroid.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colas Robin, also of\u00a0ISAE-SUPAERO,\u00a0and co-authors analyzed the surface boulders on Dimorphos, comparing them with those on other rubble pile asteroids, including\u00a0Itokawa<\/a>,\u00a0Ryugu<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bennu<\/a>. The researchers found the boulders shared similar characteristics, suggesting all these types of asteroids formed and evolved in a similar fashion. The team also noted that the elongated nature of the boulders around the DART impact site implies that they were likely formed through impact processing.<\/p>\n

These latest findings form a more robust overview of the origins of the Didymos system and add to the understanding of how such planetary bodies were formed. As ESA\u2019s (European Space Agency) Hera mission prepares to revisit DART\u2019s collision site in 2026 to further analyze the aftermath of the first-ever planetary defense test, this research provides a series of tests for what Hera will find and contributes to current and future exploration missions while bolstering planetary defense capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Johns Hopkins APL managed the DART mission for NASA\u2019s Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency\u2019s Planetary Missions Program Office. NASA provided support for the mission from several centers, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information about the DART mission:
https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/planetary-defense-dart<\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contacts<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Karen Fox \/ Alana Johnson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600\u00a0
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

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