DART's tiny companion is about to take a picture of a new impact site.
The DART mission carried a cubesat called the Light Italian Cubesat, which was deployed on Sept. 11. DART will end its mission tonight when it slams into an asteroid to test a technique for deflating space rocks. Three minutes after the impact, LICIACube will fly past Dimorphos to take a picture of the mess.
Since it was deployed, LICIACube has been practicing by taking pictures of Earth and the famous Seven Sisters star cluster.
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LICIACube has two cameras that are meant to capture different types of data. The LICIACube Explorer is a high-resolution black-and-white camera while the LICIACube Unit Key Explorer has a wider field of view.
Scientists will be able to see the fresh impact with the combined cameras.
New test images show the strengths of each camera. The crescent Earth was seen on Sept. 21. Earth and Dimorphos will be separated at the time of impact. LICIACube snapped a picture of the Pleiades, a cluster of seven stars that shine blue in the picture.
DART will never be able to see the images of the opposite side of Dimorphos that LICIA will capture.
More than one observatory on Earth will be watching the drama unfold. The structure and composition of Dimorphos are characteristics scientists hope to understand.
DART is intended to test the impact approach to planetary defense. If enough mass is slam into a space rock, it will cause the asteroid's path to change so that it won't collide with Earth. Nothing that happens tonight can change the fact that Dimorphos and Didymos are not threats to Earth.
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