NASA’s DART probe changed the trajectory of a massive asteroid after its impact on Dimorphos

In September 2022, the DART probe hit the asteroid Dimorphos in order to alter its trajectory. But this mission did not only impact this celestial object, as the trajectory of Didymos, a more massive asteroid located nearby, was also altered.

This discovery was revealed in a study published in Science Advances. These two asteroids, measuring 170 and 805 meters in diameter, are bound together by gravity, and new observations show that their orbital period of 770 days around the Sun has changed by a fraction of a second. This may seem insignificant, but over time, each variation becomes more and more important.

As a reminder, when the DART probe impacted the asteroid Dimorphos, a cloud of rocky debris was ejected into space. The shape of this celestial object was modified, and it also accelerated. In addition, its orbital period around Didymos, which was 12 hours, was shortened by 33 minutes.

But even if their trajectory has been modified, there is no need to worry about Earth. However, this shows that space probes dedicated to this element can play a major role if an asteroid threatens our planet, as was the case with 2024 YR4, which will not hit the Moon in 2032. And this, even if it will pass near our natural satellite.