That is no moon. That is a moonlet.
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft simply beamed again the primary picture of its goal, the moonlet Dimorphos, in addition to its physique it orbits, the asteroid Didymos. DART is a planetary protection take a look at mission designed to impression the moonlet to change its trajectory round Didymos. If confirmed efficient, this spacecraft design may probably be scaled as much as deflect an Earth-bound asteroid. (Didymos and Dimorphos pose no menace to Earth — they’re a take a look at web site for the kinetic impression know-how.)
The picture, which is a composite of 243 particular person pictures, comes from DART’s sole instrument, the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Digital camera for Optical Navigation (DRACO); it was taken on July 27 and launched on Wednesday (Sept. 7). It reveals each Dimorphos and Didymos as a single level of sunshine — the spacecraft was nonetheless 20 million miles (32 million kilometers) away from the asteroids at that time, so they seem indistinguishable.
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“This primary set of pictures is getting used as a take a look at to show our imaging methods,” DART mission methods engineer Elena Adams of the Johns Hopkins College Utilized Physics Laboratory in Maryland, which is managing the mission, mentioned in a statement (opens in new tab). “The standard of the picture is just like what we may receive from ground-based telescopes, however it is very important present that DRACO is working correctly and may see its goal to make any changes wanted earlier than we start utilizing the pictures to information the spacecraft into the asteroid autonomously.”
Finally, DART will use DRACO to navigate to its impression web site fully independently of its Earth-based controllers. However for now, people are in cost. Over the subsequent three weeks, the group will use pictures taken each 5 hours to make a collection of three trajectory correction maneuvers that put DART on a exact path to Didymos. Then, inside about 24 hours of impression, DART will take management to fine-tune its closing method.
“Seeing the DRACO pictures of Didymos for the primary time, we will iron out the most effective settings for DRACO and fine-tune the software program,” Julie Bellerose, the DART navigation lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, mentioned in the identical assertion. “In September, we’ll refine the place DART is aiming by getting a extra exact willpower of Didymos’ location.”
Since capturing these pictures, DRACO has checked in on Didymos three extra occasions.
DART will impression Dimorphos on Sept. 26 at 7:14 p.m. EDT (2314 GMT) — you possibly can watch protection of the occasion right here at House.com courtesy of NASA TV or immediately by the company’s web site.
Comply with Stefanie Waldek on Twitter @StefanieWaldek. Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
