NASA dramatically changed asteroid moon's shape, knocked it off its orbit

NASA's 2022 Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission has not only repositioned an asteroid's moon but also physically altered it

A study has found that NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, carried out in 2022, not only knocked the asteroid moon Dimorphos out of its natural orbit, but also physically altered it's shape.

Asteroid moon Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft which completely changed its orbit. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Handout via REUTERS

Two years ago, NASA intentionally crashed its DART spacecraft into the small asteroid moon called Dimorphos, which orbits the asteroid Didymos, to understand if any celestial object could be pushed off it's path. This was all part of NASA's focus on planetary defense.

While the original plan was just to see a small change in direction, new research published in Planetary Science Journal, has revealed that the small nudge set off this moon onto a wild new path.

One of the researchers who worked on the mission, Dr. Derek Richardson explained in the study that originally the asteroid moon which was shaped like a hamburger had become more like a football because of the collision.

This has completely challenged previous knowledge that scientists held on how asteroid moons are formed. Earlier, it was believed that over time asteroid moons would become elongated with their main axis always pointing towards the asteroid they orbit.

However, these new findings suggest that the asteroid moon contracted and became squished instead.

“This result contradicts that idea and indicates that something more complex is at work here. Furthermore, the impact-induced change in Dimorphos’ shape likely changed how it interacts with Didymos,” Richardson said in a university press release.

This was not the only consequence of the DART mission. The asteroid moon has been reportedly ‘tumbling’ through space, after being set out of it's orbit. It has been unpredictably rotating and not showing one consistent face to it's asteroid.

These findings help scientists configure how to deal with asteroids or comets in the events that they crash on earth.

Richardson said, “DART gave us insight into complicated gravitational physics that you can’t do in a lab, and all of this research helps us calibrate our efforts to defend Earth in the event of an actual threat.”

He added, “There’s a nonzero chance that an asteroid or comet will approach and endanger the planet. Now, we have an additional line of defense against these kinds of external threats.”