Successfully launched in November 2021, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is NASA’s first dedicated planetary defense mission. DART will demonstrate active asteroid deflection by altering the mutual orbit of the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos through a kinetic impact in Fall 2022. At the time of collision the DART spacecraft will travel at roughly 6 km/s with respect to its target. Ejecta, rocks and gravel expelled at high velocity from the impact crater, will most likely be created during that collision enhancing the momentum transferred through the spacecraft. The aim of the DART experiment is to enable the scientific community to better understand the role that such ejecta play in altering an asteroid’s orbit. In this talk, I will give an overview of the DART mission, its current status, and discuss how DART and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory fit into current national and international planetary defense strategies.
https://illinois.zoom.us/j/89880242486?pwd=aUt5TXRBWU9zcTNwM1dHOXB0NWNVUT09
Meeting ID: 898 8024 2486
Password: 926922