In a test of planetary defense capabilities, NASA will crash a vehicle into an asteroid. The DART mission is to see if crashing into an asteroid would be effective in redirecting the asteroid's path.
Since its launch last year, DART has traveled towards two asteroids. The craft sent back its first images and the target asteroid was also imaged. A small satellite has been deployed by the DART craft to take pictures of the crash. The satellite was popped out of a box on September 11.
It's a big moment for a small space agency. The Italian Space Agency gave the satellite.
The Italian Space Agency is excited for the first time in its history that an Italian team will operate a national vehicle in deep space. The entire team is involved in the activities, monitoring the satellite status and preparing for the flyby. The first full-frame images are expected to be received and processed within a few days. They will be used to confirm impact and to add information about the plume generated.
When DART impacts the asteroid, the idea is that LICIACube will be able to capture images of the aftermath using two cameras.
Andrew Cheng, a lead investigator of DART, said that they were excited to have LICIA on its way. It will give us unique and important information that we wouldn't get to see if it wasn't for it.
The European Space Agency will launch HERA in November of 2024 to visit the asteroid system and see in detail the effects of the DART test.
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