NASA’s DART mission detects likely ‘man-made’ meteor shower for first time — What are Dimorphids? Explained | Mint

On September 26, 2022, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully rammed a vending machine-sized spacecraft into the asteroid moon Dimorphos. The mission was called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and may now result in the first ‘man-made’ meteor shower.

Dimorphids: The first man-made meteor shower

The impact of NASA’s DART mission, which successfully altered the orbit of a small asteroid in space for 33 minutes, may have triggered an extraordinary event — the first man-made meteor shower, called the Dimorphids.

Rocky debris ejected from Dimorphos, a football stadium-sized asteroid, during the DART mission may have caused the first human-made meteor shower, known as the Dimorphids, a new study finds.

According to CNN, scientists estimated that the intentional collision in the DART mission produced more than 2 million pounds (about 1 million kilograms) of rocks and dust — enough to fill six or seven train carriages.

Now, new research suggests that pieces of Dimorphos will reach the vicinity of Earth and Mars within one to three decades, and it’s likely that some debris could reach Mars within seven years.

Even smaller debris could reach Earth’s atmosphere in the next 10 years. The Planetary Science Journal has accepted this study for publication.

“We have identified DART ejecta orbits for the delivery of meteorite-producing particles to Mars and Earth,” the study says. “Our results indicate a probability of ejecta reaching the Mars Hill region in 13 years for launch velocities around 450 m/s, which is within the observed range. Some ejecta particles launched at velocities around 770 m/s could reach the vicinity of Mars in 7 years,” it adds.

“The high-velocity emissions resulted in a high flux towards Mars, with particles hitting the Earth’s Hill sphere at velocities greater than 1.5 km/s,” it said.

What is NASA’s DART mission?

The DART mission was NASA’s first attempt to launch an asteroid into space. It was launched in 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

According to the US space agency, DART was the first mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating a method of deflecting asteroids by altering their motion in space through kinetic impact.

Was the DART mission a success?

The DART mission was a success. An official said in October 2022, “NASA confirms that DART successfully altered the trajectory of the targeted asteroid… This is a critical moment for planetary defense.”

This was the first time that man had [purposely] “It changed the trajectory of a celestial body,” the agency said. It was the first full-scale demonstration of asteroid deflection technology.

With the success of the DART mission, NASA found that the mission’s kinetic impactor technology could effectively alter an asteroid’s trajectory.

Why was Dimorphos chosen as the target?

The DART mission impacted the asteroid moon Dimorphos. The asteroid Didymos and its smaller moon Dimorphos together form a binary asteroid system – meaning that the smaller moon (Dimorphos) orbits the larger body (Didymos). They were chosen for the DART mission because they pass relatively close to Earth.

In addition, Dimorphos was a perfect choice for the mission because it is comparable in size to asteroids that could threaten our planet, CNN reported. However, neither Dimorphos nor its larger parent, Didymos, pose any threat to Earth.

How would asteroid deflection help?

NASA said DART’s collision with the asteroid Dimorphos “demonstrates a viable mitigation technology to protect the planet from an approaching asteroid or comet (if one is found).”

This means that the mission’s one-way trip has confirmed that NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally deflect it into an asteroid. This could protect Earth from potential asteroid collisions in the future. This technique could be used to deflect dangerous asteroids that are likely to hit Earth.