Asteroid lost 1 million kilograms after collision with DART spacecraft

The asteroid that was deliberately hit with NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft last September lost one million kilograms of rock, gained a 1,000-kilometre-long debris tail and now completes its orbit 33 minutes faster than before the collision. A detailed analysis of what happened when DART smashed into the Great-Pyramid-sized asteroid Dimorphos has revealed how successful this first test of planetary defence really was. The spacecraft hit a spot close to the asteroid’s centre and caused a large spray of rubble to fly outwards, which maximised the impact’s force and added momentum.