1
After launch the Dart craft will take around 14 months to reach the Didymos asteroids in late Sept 2022 – around 11m km from Earth
2
With the aid of an onboard camera and autonomous navigation software the Dart spacecraft crashes itself in to the Didymos B moonlet at a speed of approximately 6.6km/s
Didymos B
160m diameter
Didymos A
780m diameter
Post-impact
orbit
3
Original orbit
The collision is expected to change the speed of the moonlet’s orbit by less than 1% – but this would change the period of orbit by several minutes
4
If approved by ESA the Hera craft would be launched after the impact to capture images and data post-collision
1
3
After launch the Dart craft will take around 14 months to reach the Didymos asteroids in late Sept 2022 – around 11m km from Earth
The collision is expected to change the speed of the moonlet’s orbit by less than 1% – but this would change the period of orbit by several minutes
Didymos A
780m diameter
Original orbit
Post-impact
orbit
Didymos B
160m diameter
2
With the aid of an onboard camera and autonomous navigation software the Dart spacecraft crashes itself in to the Didymos B moonlet at a speed of approximately 6.6km/s
4
If approved by ESA the Hera craft would be launched after the impact to capture images and data post-collision