What Happened to the Asteroid Hit by Humanity's Dart? [Reading Science]

Italian Space Agency Releases Photos of DART Spacecraft Accompanying Small Satellite
"Enveloped in Bright, Hazy Dust"... Orbit Change Confirmation to Take Time

The twin asteroids Didymos-Dimorphos (top) immediately after the collision, photographed by the LICIACube satellite, which accompanied the DART spacecraft from the Italian Space Agency (ISA).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] What happened to the asteroid hit by humanity's DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)? The images captured by the following small satellite confirm that the asteroid received a significant impact, drawing attention to the final results.

The Italian Space Agency (ISA) on the 27th (local time) released photos taken by its LICIACube satellite, which accompanied the US DART spacecraft, showing the scene before and after the collision between the DART spacecraft and the target asteroid Dimorphos.

The photos were taken about three minutes after the DART spacecraft collided with the Dimorphos asteroid near Jupiter at approximately 7:14 p.m. the previous day (Eastern Time), about 11 million km from Earth, and arrived on Earth three hours later. The photos taken by the LICIACube satellite include images of Dimorphos before and after the collision with the DART spacecraft, allowing an estimation of the collision's effects.

According to the images, the Dimorphos asteroid after the collision was surrounded by brightly shining dust and debris generated by the impact. Elisabetta Dotto, a scientist from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, stated, "It has been confirmed that Dimorphos is completely covered by dust and debris formed by the impact," adding, "These photos will play a significant role in understanding the structure and composition of Dimorphos." The ISA has currently released only two photos taken by the already arrived LICIACube satellite and plans to announce additional images as they arrive. The LICIACube satellite took photos of the scene three minutes after the DART spacecraft collided with Dimorphos. It also captured images of the side opposite to the collision.

The twin asteroids Didymos-Dimorphos (top) after the collision, photographed by the LICIACube satellite, which accompanied the DART spacecraft from the Italian Space Agency (ISA).

NASA, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) including ISA, planned the DART project to prepare for Earth-threatening asteroids. It is a technical study to determine whether the orbit of an asteroid can be altered by physically colliding with it. In November last year, NASA launched the DART spacecraft, which cost 330 million dollars (about 400 billion won) to build, and collided it with Dimorphos, the satellite of the Didymos asteroid near Jupiter.

In addition to the on-site images from the LICIACube satellite, NASA is currently tracking changes in the orbit, movement, and speed of the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroids after the collision using hundreds of ground-based telescopes worldwide and all available observation equipment, including the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. The final results of this collision are expected to be confirmed by the end of this month or around the 1st to 2nd of next month. The ultimate confirmation will be conducted by the Hera spacecraft, launched by ESA after 2027.