How DART’s impact changed two asteroid orbits
Retrospective: Separating two orbits clarifies the deflection test.
- Event / announcement date
- 2026-03-06
- Earliest linked source date
- 2019-01-13
- NewsTumble first published
- 2026-10-27T03:55:25Z
- NewsTumble updated
- 2026-10-27T03:55:25Z
NASA reported March 6, 2026, that DART’s 2022 collision changed the Didymos pair’s 770-day orbit around the Sun by 0.15 seconds. The test system was never on a collision course with Earth. [1]
DART struck Dimorphos, a moonlet orbiting Didymos, on September 26, 2022. NASA designed the mission to demonstrate asteroid deflection through a direct collision that changes an object’s motion. [2]
A March 2024 analysis addressed a different orbit: Dimorphos’ path around Didymos. Models combining spacecraft images, radar and changes in reflected light found a 33-minute, 15-second reduction in that orbital period and a more elongated asteroid. [3]
The 2026 study combined 22 stellar occultations with radar and other measurements. It estimated an along-orbit slowing of 11.7 ± 1.3 micrometers per second. Escaping debris supplied additional momentum; the inferred enhancement factor was 2.0 ± 0.3, roughly doubling the spacecraft’s contribution. [4]
Deflection also requires finding objects early. NASA’s planned infrared NEO Surveyor telescope is designed to detect asteroids that other surveys miss, including dark objects. Its future search capability does not mean hazardous objects have all been found. [5]
The source
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: NASA’s DART Mission Changed Orbit of Asteroid Didymos Around Sun ↗
Source published 2026-03-06 · reviewed October 26, 2026 · Published March 6, 2026. - NASA: Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) ↗
Source published 2019-01-13 · reviewed October 26, 2026 · Created January 13, 2019 (NASA article metadata); page last updated November 3, 2024. Mission dates are separate. - NASA: NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact ↗
Source published 2024-03-19 · reviewed October 26, 2026 · Published March 19, 2024; updated the same day. - Science Advances / NCBI PubMed Central: Direct detection of an asteroid’s heliocentric deflection: The Didymos system after DART ↗
Source published 2026-03-06 · reviewed October 26, 2026 · Published March 6, 2026. - NASA: NEO Surveyor ↗
Source published 2021-12-10 · reviewed October 26, 2026 · Created December 10, 2021 (NASA metadata); page last updated May 6, 2026. Launch plans are separate.
About this item: Retrospective report. No first-hand reporting or independent testing is claimed. Corrections policy.
