DART: Six Months After Impact - Latest Results and Implications for Planetary Defense

Explore the groundbreaking results of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission in this 50-minute presentation by the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Delve into the historic asteroid deflection demonstration that occurred on September 26, 2022, when the DART spacecraft successfully collided with the asteroid Dimorphos. Learn about the extensive data analysis conducted by the team, including information from the DART spacecraft's camera, the Italian Space Agency's LICIACube, and observations from Earth- and space-based telescopes. Discover how the impact changed Dimorphos' orbital period by 33 minutes and the significant role of ejecta in enhancing the deflection. Gain insights into the reconstruction of DART's impact with the asteroid's surface, simulations of the kinetic impact, and the latest observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. Understand the implications of these findings for future planetary defense applications and their potential significance in protecting Earth from asteroid threats.