A NASA spacecraft will quickly make historical past when it crashes into an asteroid on this planet’s first planetary protection check.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Take a look at, or DART asteroid mission, will slam a spacecraft into the tiny moon of the asteroid Didymos on Monday, Sept. 26, with the influence set at 7:14 p.m. EDT (2314 GMT). If all goes effectively, the spacecraft will hit the moonlet, referred to as Dimorphos, and snap photos till the second of influence. You’ll be able to see those images live in actual time. Learn on for a helpful information on when it would all occur.
However first, some science. NASA’s DART mission launched almost a yr in the past on Nov. 24, 2021 to check using a “kinetic impactor” to alter the orbit of an asteroid — the primary planetary protection check of its type.
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DART’s goal Dimorphos is about 560 toes (170 meters) large and orbits its bigger guardian Didymos as soon as each 11 hours and 55 minutes. The asteroids are about 7 million miles (9.6 million kilometers) from Earth and pose no danger of impacting our planet, NASA has mentioned. DART ought to hit Dimorphos whereas touring at about 14,760 mph (23,760 kph). This is what DART’s final day might be like.
Sunday, Sept. 25: One day to DART asteroid influence
Whereas the stage was set for NASA’s DART asteroid influence with its launch in 2021, the space rock influence motion actually begins to warmth up within the closing 24 hours. That is when DART will carry out its closing maneuver to set it on the right track for a Didymos influence.
“After the ultimate maneuver on Sept. 25, roughly 24 hours earlier than influence, the navigation staff will know the place of the goal Dimorphos inside 2 kilometers [1.2 miles],” NASA officers wrote in a statement (opens in new tab). “From there, DART might be by itself to autonomously information itself to its collision with the asteroid moonlet.”
Associated: Why did NASA pick Didymos for its asteroid-crash mission?
Monday, Sept. 26: 4 pm ET — DART terminal phase begins
About 4 hours earlier than influence, the DART spacecraft will enter what mission scientists name its “terminal phase.” The spacecraft’s DRACO digital camera must be locked on the Didymos asteroid and searching for its moon Dimorphos.
“At that time, at 4 hours, we are literally concentrating on Didymos as a result of we will not see Dimorphos,” mentioned Evan Smith, DART’s deputy mission techniques engineer on the Johns Hopkins College Utilized Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) in Laurel, Maryland.
In the course of the terminal phase, DART’s flight controllers will not be issuing floor instructions. The spacecraft might be absolutely on autonomous concentrating on utilizing its good navigation system, Smith mentioned.
Monday, Sept. 26: 5:30 pm ET — DART asteroid digital camera views
At 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT), NASA will begin broadcasting a real-time stream of images from DART’s Draco digital camera. That is the digital camera that can present the asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos as they develop bigger in DART’s discipline of view.
“Within the hours earlier than influence, the display screen will seem principally black, with a single level of sunshine. That time is the binary asteroid system Didymos, which is made up of a bigger asteroid named Didymos and a smaller asteroid that orbits round it referred to as Dimorphos,” NASA wrote in a video description (opens in new tab).
The photographs on this stream might be delayed barely due to the time it takes the sign to achieve Earth from DART 7 million miles (11 million km) away, then be processed on the bottom. NASA has already launched one view of Didymos from DART, in addition to a view of Jupiter and its moons.
“After influence, the feed will flip black — on account of a lack of sign. After about 2 minutes, this stream will flip right into a replay — displaying the ultimate moments main as much as influence,” NASA wrote.
Monday, Sept. 26: 6 pm ET — NASA DART webcast begins
NASA’s dwell webcast of the DART asteroid influence will start on Monday at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT).
NASA has mentioned it’s this stream that can have the uncooked, latest photos of the asteroid influence because it occurs. The webcast might be run out of JHUAPL, which oversees the mission for NASA.
Sept. 26: 6:24 pm ET — 50 minutes earlier than influence
About 50 minutes earlier than DART hits Dimorphos, the spacecraft ought to shift its concentrating on to the smaller moonlet ultimately.
“At 50 minutes to influence, we’ll have been seeing Dimorphos for possibly 40 minutes,” Smith mentioned, including that each the moonlet and its guardian Didymos must be within the spacecraft’s digital camera view. “Each objects will nonetheless be within the discipline of view, however we will go straight for Dimorphos and go for influence on there.”
Sept. 26: 6:54 p.m. ET — DART precision lock on Dimorphos
At 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT), DART might be simply 20 minutes from crashing into Dimorphos and its good navigation system will enter what is known as “precision lock.”
“At 20 minutes earlier than influence, we will one thing referred to as precision lock, through which we completely ignore Didymos and we go straight for Dimorphos solely,” Smith mentioned. “We anticipate to be thrusting fairly a bit at that interval.”
Sept. 26: 7:11 p.m. EDT — DART cuts its engines
Simply after 7:11 p.m. EDT (2311 GMT), DART will lower its ion engines and put together for the inevitable. The spacecraft will then be on observe to crash into Dimorphos at 14,760 mph (23,760 kph).
“At two-and-a-half minutes earlier than influence, we lower off all thrusting, and we will coast in,” Smith mentioned. “We will be streaming photos the entire time. “
Sept. 26: 7:14 p.m. ET — DART impacts asteroid Dimorphos
That is it, the massive second! If DART hits it mark, that is when the dwell views of Dimorphos from the DRACO digital camera will lower out.
Elena Adams, DART’s lead mission techniques engineer at JHUAPL, mentioned there’s a 91% to 99% likelihood of a profitable influence if DART’s cameras can see Dimorphos.
The influence ought to kick up an enormous plume of ejecta {that a} small cubesat called LICIACube ought to see. The cubesat hitched a experience with DART throughout launch and was ejected just a few weeks in the past.
Sept. 26: 7:17 pm ET — LICIACube flies previous Dimorphos
Three minutes after DART hits Dimorphos LICIACube ought to fly by the influence website.
LICIACube will snap images of the ensuing ejecta plume created by DART’s crash after which ship them again to Earth. The photographs will seemingly be launched on Sept. 28, because it takes time for the small cubesat to beam them again, NASA has mentioned.
LICIACube (brief for “Mild Italian Cubesat for Imaging Asteroids”) was constructed by the Italian Area Company and was released by DART on Sept. 11.
“We anticipate to obtain the primary full-frame photos and to course of them a few days after DART’s influence,” Simone Pirrotta, LICIACube undertaking supervisor for the Italian Area Company, mentioned in a statement (opens in new tab).
Sept. 26: 8 p.m. ET — NASA DART post-impact briefing
At 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT on Sept. 27), NASA will maintain a press convention to debate the DART asteroid influence.
Whereas we do not have a listing of who’s attending the press convention, you could be certain will probably be stuffed with mission managers and JHUAPL and NASA officers hoping to have a good time DART’s success. The press convention might be webcast dwell on NASA TV.
You possibly can watch the press briefing on our DART asteroid impact webcasts web page.
And that is a take a look at what time DART will crash into the asteroid Dimorphos and the way the day will unfold.
Visit Space.com on Monday, Sept. 26, for full protection of NASA’s DART asteroid mission.
Electronic mail Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in new tab) or comply with him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Observe us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).
