Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART):
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NASA will launch its first planetary defence test mission, named the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART).
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The mission will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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DART is the first technology demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique.
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If successful, this technique could be used to mitigate the threat in case an asteroid heads towards Earth in the future.
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What will the DART mission do?
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The mission will test this newly developed technology by allowing a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and change its course.
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After the spacecraft has collided with the asteroid, scientists will study its impact on the trajectory of the asteroid with a range of telescopes deployed on different regions of the planet.
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This study will help scientists understand whether the kinetic effect of a spacecraft impact could successfully deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
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Which asteroid will be deflected by the mission?
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The target of the spacecraft is a small moonlet called Dimorphos (Greek for “two forms”). Dimorphos orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos (Greek for “twin”).
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Why was Dimorphos chosen?
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Didymos and Dimorphos do not pose any threat to Earth.
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Didymos is an eclipsing binary, which means it has a moonlet that regularly orbits the asteroid, and scientists can see it when it passes in front of the main asteroid. Due to this, Earth-based telescopes can make the most precise measurement possible.
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