When NASA launched its mission in September 2022 DART against the asteroid Dimorphos, the goal was clear: test our ability to deflect potentially dangerous celestial bodies. No one, however, could have predicted the extraordinary results that followed, marking a significant step forward in planetary defense and space exploration.
Bold experiments and where to find them
Underlying it all was a fundamental question: can we protect our planet from a potential cosmic threat? The answer came with the DART mission, a bold attempt to alter the trajectory of an asteroid. Dimorphos, a small satellite of the larger asteroid Didymos, was chosen as the target for this unprecedented test.
And how did it go? The carefully calculated impact diverted Dimorphos' course and also offered a fascinating spectacle, captured by the cameras of the Hubble and Webb space telescope.
The “healing” of Dimorphos
What makes this experiment particularly fascinating is the asteroid's reaction to the impact. Recent studies (I link them to you here) suggest that Dimorphos may be “healing,” changing its shape and composition in response to the violent encounter.
An asteroid that is healing… What an unexpected dynamic. Scientists now speculate that the mission Ivy of the European Space Agency, destined to "return to the scene of the crime" and visit the impact site in the coming years, could find itself faced with a completely different panorama than expected.
Implications for the future
The outcome of DART goes beyond technology demonstration: it lays the foundation for a new era in planetary defense. The ability to deflect an asteroid, which previously we could only attribute to Bruce Willis (if you know what I mean), is now a tangible reality. More: The potential “healing” of Dimorphos raises fundamental questions about how asteroids form and evolve over time.
This event marks a turning point in our relationship with space. We are no longer simple observers of the cosmos, but actors capable of interacting and, perhaps, protecting ourselves from its threats. While waiting for data from the Hera mission, we can only imagine what other secrets are waiting to be revealed in the vast universe around us.
