New findings from the NASA DART mission reveal that the impact on asteroid moon Dimorphos caused more complex effects than expected. (1/4) iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3... #DART #NASA #Hera #ESA #AsteroidDefence #Asteroid #Dimorphos #Meteorit

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(2/4) A team led by Tony Farnham (University of Maryland) discovered that, in addition to the intended deflection, the collision ejected dozens of large rock fragments at high speed in specific directions. #DART #NASA #Hera #ESA #AsteroidDefence #Asteroid #Dimorphos #Meteorit
(3/4) These fragments gave the asteroid an additional push, nearly as strong as the impact itself, potentially causing it to tumble uncontrollably. This complicates future asteroid deflection missions, as such secondary effects must be factored into mission planning #DART #NASA #Hera #ESA #Dimorphos
(4/4) The cause of the directed debris pattern is still unclear, but researchers suspect the probe hit two larger rocks, triggering the unusual distribution. ESA's Hera mission is on its way to get a clear picture of how Dimorphos looks like now. #DART #NASA #Hera #ESA #AsteroidDefence #Dimorphos