DART Crash Nudges Didymos-Dimorphos’ Solar Orbit, Proving Kinetic Defense
NASA’s DART intentionally collided with Dimorphos in Sept. 2022; the impact not only altered Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos but also shifted the binary’s orbit around the Sun by about 0.15 seconds, a first for a human-made object. With a momentum enhancement near 2, the debris plume amplified the punch of the collision, demonstrating that kinetic impact can deflect a risky object if detected early. The result, confirmed via radar, 22 stellar occultations (2022–2025), and space telescopes, informs asteroid densities and supports a rubble-pile model for Dimorphos, reinforcing planetary-defense planning and NASA’s future NEO Surveyor mission.
