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A groundbreaking study published in Nature Astronomy has revealed that NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft, which intentionally collided with an asteroid named Dimorphos, may have transformed the celestial body into a flat-topped oval shape resembling an M&M candy. The impact of DART caused a unique dent on Dimorphos' surface instead of the expected bowl-shaped crater.
Simulations conducted by scientists indicated that DART's impact ejected between 0.5 to 1 percent of Dimorphos' mass and redistributed eight percent of its mass. Sabina Raducan, a scientist from the University of Bern who led the study, suggested that Dimorphos likely formed through rotational mass shedding and re-accumulation from Didymos.
The study aligns with previous observations from the European Space Agency, James Webb, and Hubble, which noted plumes of material streaming away from the impact site following DART's collision with Dimorphos.
Additionally, NASA confirmed that DART successfully altered Dimorphos' orbit through its kinetic impact. The $325 million DART spacecraft, developed by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, aimed to test planetary defense methods against potential threats from space. Despite its primitive technology, DART's mission has opened new avenues for scientists to prepare for and mitigate the risks posed by rogue space objects.
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