Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact
On 2022 September 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the binary asteroid system 65803 Didymos. This collision provided the first full-scale test of a kinetic impactor for planetary defense. Images from DART’s DRACO camera rev...
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| author | Angela M. Stickle Kathryn M. Kumamoto Dawn M. Graninger Mallory E. DeCoster Wendy K. Caldwell Jason M. Pearl J. Michael Owen Olivier Barnouin Gareth S. Collins R. Terik Daly Isabel Herreros Jens Ormö Jessica Sunshine Carolyn M. Ernst Toshi Hirabayashi Simone Marchi Laura Parro Harrison Agrusa Megan Bruck Syal Nancy L. Chabot Andy F. Cheng Thomas M. Davison Elisabetta Dotto Eugene G. Fahenstock Fabio Ferrari Martin Jutzi Alice Lucchetti Robert Luther Nilanjan Mitra Maurizio Pajola Sabina Raducan KT Ramesh Andrew S. Rivkin Alessandro Rossi Paul Sánchez Stephen R. Schwartz Stefania Soldini Jordan K. Steckloff Filippo Tusberti Kai Wünnemann Yun Zhang |
| author_facet | Angela M. Stickle Kathryn M. Kumamoto Dawn M. Graninger Mallory E. DeCoster Wendy K. Caldwell Jason M. Pearl J. Michael Owen Olivier Barnouin Gareth S. Collins R. Terik Daly Isabel Herreros Jens Ormö Jessica Sunshine Carolyn M. Ernst Toshi Hirabayashi Simone Marchi Laura Parro Harrison Agrusa Megan Bruck Syal Nancy L. Chabot Andy F. Cheng Thomas M. Davison Elisabetta Dotto Eugene G. Fahenstock Fabio Ferrari Martin Jutzi Alice Lucchetti Robert Luther Nilanjan Mitra Maurizio Pajola Sabina Raducan KT Ramesh Andrew S. Rivkin Alessandro Rossi Paul Sánchez Stephen R. Schwartz Stefania Soldini Jordan K. Steckloff Filippo Tusberti Kai Wünnemann Yun Zhang |
| author_sort | Angela M. Stickle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On 2022 September 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the binary asteroid system 65803 Didymos. This collision provided the first full-scale test of a kinetic impactor for planetary defense. Images from DART’s DRACO camera revealed Dimorphos to be an oblate spheroid covered in boulders of varying sizes and shapes. Very little was known about Dimorphos prior to DART’s impact, including its shape, structure, and material properties. Approach observations and those following the DART impact have provided crucial knowledge that narrows the parameter space relevant to modeling the impact into Dimorphos. Here we present the results of a suite of hydrocode simulations of the DART impact on Dimorphos. Despite remaining uncertainties, initial models of DART’s kinetic impact provide important information about the results of DART (e.g., potential crater size and morphology, ejecta mass) and the properties of Dimorphos. Simulations here suggest that Dimorphos has near-surface strength ranging from a few Pascals to tens of kPa, which corresponds to crater sizes of ∼40–60 m. Simulated crater sizes provide a crucial comparison metric for the European Space Agency Hera mission when it arrives at the Didymos system. Hera’s measurement of crater size in combination with measurement of Dimorphos’s mass will allow us to assess our simulations and provide the information needed to make the DART impact experiment both the first test of a planetary defense mitigation mission and the first full-scale planetary defense simulation validation exercise. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-26ab50e105c04cefa90d9fe3392e5e22 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-26ab50e105c04cefa90d9fe3392e5e222025-02-10T09:39:48ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-01623810.3847/PSJ/ad944dDimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART ImpactAngela M. Stickle0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7602-9120Kathryn M. Kumamoto1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0400-6333Dawn M. Graninger2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1582-0581Mallory E. DeCoster3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1139-9235Wendy K. Caldwell4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6076-5636Jason M. Pearl5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5340-7272J. Michael Owen6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4796-124XOlivier Barnouin7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3578-7750Gareth S. Collins8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6087-6149R. Terik Daly9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1320-2985Isabel Herreros10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5284-8060Jens Ormö11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5810-9442Jessica Sunshine12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9413-8785Carolyn M. Ernst13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9434-7886Toshi Hirabayashi14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1821-5689Simone Marchi15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2548-3291Laura Parro16Harrison Agrusa17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3544-298XMegan Bruck Syal18https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2776-9955Nancy L. Chabot19https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8628-3176Andy F. Cheng20Thomas M. Davison21https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8790-873XElisabetta Dotto22Eugene G. Fahenstock23Fabio Ferrari24Martin Jutzi25Alice Lucchetti26https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7413-3058Robert Luther27https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0745-1467Nilanjan Mitra28Maurizio Pajola29Sabina Raducan30https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7478-0148KT Ramesh31https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2659-4698Andrew S. Rivkin32https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9939-9976Alessandro Rossi33https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9311-2869Paul Sánchez34Stephen R. Schwartz35Stefania Soldini36Jordan K. Steckloff37Filippo Tusberti38https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9290-1679Kai Wünnemann39Yun Zhang40https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4045-9046Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduLawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduLos Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduDepartment of Earth Science & Engineering, Imperial College , London, UKJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduCentro de Astrobiología (CAB) CSIC-INTA , Carretera de Ajalvir km4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, SpainCentro de Astrobiología (CAB) CSIC-INTA , Carretera de Ajalvir km4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, SpainUniversity of Maryland , College Park, MD, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduDaniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, GA 30332, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO, USAUniversidad de Alicante , SpainUniversity of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA; Universite Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, FranceLawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduDepartment of Earth Science & Engineering, Imperial College , London, UKINAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Rome, ItalyJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, USADepartment of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano , Milan 20159, ItalySpace Research and Planetary Sciences, Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern , Bern, SwitzerlandINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padua, ItalyMuseum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung , Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, J ohns Hopkins University , Baltimore MD, USAINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padua, ItalySpace Research and Planetary Sciences, Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern , Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, J ohns Hopkins University , Baltimore MD, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA ; angela.stickle@jhuapl.eduIstituto di Fisica Applicata “Nello Carrara” (IFAC-CNR), Sesto Fiorentino 50019, ItalyUniversity of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USAPlanetary Science Institute , Tucson, AZ, USADepartment of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Liverpool , Liverpool L69 3GH, UKPlanetary Science Institute , Tucson, AZ, USAINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padua, ItalyMuseum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung , Berlin, GermanyUniversity of Maryland , College Park, MD, USAOn 2022 September 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the binary asteroid system 65803 Didymos. This collision provided the first full-scale test of a kinetic impactor for planetary defense. Images from DART’s DRACO camera revealed Dimorphos to be an oblate spheroid covered in boulders of varying sizes and shapes. Very little was known about Dimorphos prior to DART’s impact, including its shape, structure, and material properties. Approach observations and those following the DART impact have provided crucial knowledge that narrows the parameter space relevant to modeling the impact into Dimorphos. Here we present the results of a suite of hydrocode simulations of the DART impact on Dimorphos. Despite remaining uncertainties, initial models of DART’s kinetic impact provide important information about the results of DART (e.g., potential crater size and morphology, ejecta mass) and the properties of Dimorphos. Simulations here suggest that Dimorphos has near-surface strength ranging from a few Pascals to tens of kPa, which corresponds to crater sizes of ∼40–60 m. Simulated crater sizes provide a crucial comparison metric for the European Space Agency Hera mission when it arrives at the Didymos system. Hera’s measurement of crater size in combination with measurement of Dimorphos’s mass will allow us to assess our simulations and provide the information needed to make the DART impact experiment both the first test of a planetary defense mitigation mission and the first full-scale planetary defense simulation validation exercise.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad944dAsteroidsCratersImpact phenomenaPlanetary science |
| spellingShingle | Angela M. Stickle Kathryn M. Kumamoto Dawn M. Graninger Mallory E. DeCoster Wendy K. Caldwell Jason M. Pearl J. Michael Owen Olivier Barnouin Gareth S. Collins R. Terik Daly Isabel Herreros Jens Ormö Jessica Sunshine Carolyn M. Ernst Toshi Hirabayashi Simone Marchi Laura Parro Harrison Agrusa Megan Bruck Syal Nancy L. Chabot Andy F. Cheng Thomas M. Davison Elisabetta Dotto Eugene G. Fahenstock Fabio Ferrari Martin Jutzi Alice Lucchetti Robert Luther Nilanjan Mitra Maurizio Pajola Sabina Raducan KT Ramesh Andrew S. Rivkin Alessandro Rossi Paul Sánchez Stephen R. Schwartz Stefania Soldini Jordan K. Steckloff Filippo Tusberti Kai Wünnemann Yun Zhang Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact The Planetary Science Journal Asteroids Craters Impact phenomena Planetary science |
| title | Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact |
| title_full | Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact |
| title_fullStr | Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact |
| title_short | Dimorphos’s Material Properties and Estimates of Crater Size from the DART Impact |
| title_sort | dimorphos s material properties and estimates of crater size from the dart impact |
| topic | Asteroids Craters Impact phenomena Planetary science |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad944d |
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