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Science
Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University

NASA's asteroid deflection mission was more successful than expected. An expert explains how

NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble

On September 26, after a nine-month journey through the Solar System, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission impacted an asteroid called Dimorphos.

NASA scored a bullseye, with DART – roughly the size of a vending machine – hitting Dimorphos within 10% of the 160-metre asteroid’s centre. The hit changed the orbit of Dimorphos around its bigger companion asteroid Didymos by more than 30 minutes, far exceeding the original goal.

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