NASA's DART Mission Alters Asteroid's Orbit Around the Sun
NASA's DART mission successfully changed the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos around the Sun, marking the first human-made alteration of a celestial body's solar trajectory.
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission has achieved a significant milestone by altering the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos around the Sun. In September 2022, the DART spacecraft intentionally collided with Dimorphos, a 560-foot-wide asteroid that orbits a larger companion, Didymos. This impact not only shortened Dimorphos' orbit around Didymos by approximately 33 minutes but also resulted in a measurable change in the binary system's trajectory around the Sun.
A study published in March 2026 in the journal Science Advances detailed that the DART impact altered the Didymos-Dimorphos system's solar orbit by about 0.15 seconds. This marks the first time a human-made object has measurably changed the path of a celestial body around the Sun.
The collision ejected a significant amount of debris from Dimorphos, effectively doubling the momentum transfer compared to the spacecraft's impact alone. This enhanced thrust contributed to the observed changes in the asteroid's orbit.
These findings demonstrate the viability of kinetic impact as a method for planetary defense, providing a potential strategy to deflect hazardous asteroids that may pose a threat to Earth.