The 1,340-pound spacecraft plowed directly into Dimorphos as intended. Astronomers now need to determine the potential impact of the test.
NASA’s DART spacecraft has crashed into Dimorphos, with the loss of signal occurring today at exactly 7:14 p.m. ET as expected. Scientists will now pore over the data to see if the kinetic impactor altered the asteroid’s orbital trajectory.
NASA’s first demonstration of a possible planetary defense strategy appears to have gone exceptionally well, with the DART spacecraft successfully impacting a non-threatening asteroid following a 10-month journey to the Didymos binary asteroid system.
DART’s onboard camera, DRACO (Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation), captured the event in remarkable detail. The camera showed the asteroid coming into view at a rate of one image per second. Surface details, such as rocks, dust, and shadows, got progressively clearer with each new frame. The images kept appearing as DART raced toward Dimorphos at speeds reaching 14,000 miles per hour (22,500 kilometers per hour), but it all came crashing to a halt—literally—with a static red screen indicating the loss of signal.
