NASA's DART asteroid-smashing mission spots Jupiter and its moons

NASA's DART mission captured a photo of Jupiter and its four largest moons to test the navigation system that will lead to a collision with an asteroid next week.

The image was taken over the summer when DART was 16 million miles from Earth and headed towards the Didymos and Dimorphos asteroids. DART used Jupiter and its four moons to demonstrate how objects that are close together look to the DRACO camera.

The team focused on Jupiter's moon Europa, which is the closest moon to the planet on the planet's right in the image. DART's final approach to slam into Dimorphos will cause it to separate from Didymos. The test was performed on July 1 and August 2.

DART will be a key test of planetary defense.

The DRACO instrument scientist at the APL said that the Jupiter tests gave them the chance to image something in our own solar system. We are excited for what DRACO will reveal about Didymos and Dimorphos in the hours and minutes leading up to impact.

While moving across the field of view, the team analyzed the intensity and number of objects in the picture. From left to right, are Jupiter, Io, and Callisto.

NASA officials wrote in the statement that the DRACO camera will guide DART to Dimorphos autonomously. NASA said that the ground control team can only interfere if there is a mission threatening deviation from expectations. The teams will be able to better understand the situation just before the impact if the camera's performance is improved.

"If we do one of these tests, we make the displays a little bit better and a little bit more responsive to what we will actually be looking for during the real terminal event," said the NASA statement.

Dimorphos will be the site of a first-of-its-kind experiment on Monday. One day, Dimorphos around Didymos could be used to protect Earth from a space rock.

On Sunday, Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in over five decades. The planet will be in opposition to the sun on DART's impact day. Skywatchers won't need a spaceship or a telescope to see the gas giant.

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