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Team members were observing the current COVID-19 protocols when the images were taken.

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Videos
DRACO

Mission Operations Center DRACO Display – Final 5 Minutes

This display was shown in the Mission Operations Center during DART’s approach to impact and helped the team visualize SMART Nav real-time targeting and DRACO image processing performance.
For a ...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/ Dmitriy Bekker

Mission Operations Center DRACO Display – Final 4 Hours

This display was shown in the Mission Operations Center during DART’s approach to impact and helped the team visualize SMART Nav real-time targeting and DRACO image processing performance. This vide...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/ Dmitriy Bekker

Impact Replay Movie

The final five-and-a-half minutes of images leading up to the DART spacecraft's intentional collision with asteroid Dimorphos. The DART spacecraft streamed these images from its DRACO camera back to E...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Overview

From Impact to Innovation: A Year of Science and Triumph for Historic DART Mission

Revisit DART’s triumphant collision with Dimorphos and the resulting year of science analysis and discoveries that followed.

Credit: Johns Hopkins APL

NASA's DART Mission (2022 DART Trailer)

NASA's first flight mission for planetary defense, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) seeks to test and validate a method to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat. The DART missi...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben/Jessica Tozer

Defending the Planet- NASA’s DART Mission

Launched in November 2021, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be the world’s first mission to test planetary defense techniques, demonstrating one mitigation method of asteroid defl...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Astronauts Show How NASA's DART Mission Will Change an Asteroid's Motion in Space

The DART spacecraft will intentionally crash into an asteroid to test if impacting an object is a viable way to deflect an asteroid, should a threat ever be discovered in the future. Watch as NASA ast...
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Credit: NASA | Editor: Jessica Wilde, NASA 360

Overview of the DART Mission (Engineering)

Produced December 2018

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Overview of the DART Mission (Mission Overview)

Produced December 2018

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Overview of the DART Mission (Full Video)

Produced December 2018

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Impact Activities and Results

DART Changes the Orbit of an Asteroid

NASA’s DART mission confirmed that crashing spacecraft into asteroids can deflect them.

Credit: NASA

DART Mission Impact Success

On Sept. 26, after ten months of journeying through space, NASA's experimental Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft — roughly the size of a vending machine — hurtled toward a binary ...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL

Pioneering Planetary Defense: What Comes Next After DART’s Asteroid Impact (AGU Press Conference: 15 December, 2022)

The DART team presents the latest scientific results at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2022 meeting.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/AGU

DART’s Impact with Asteroid Dimorphos (Official NASA Broadcast)

Countdown to impact as NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) attempts humanity’s first-ever test of planetary defense! The DART spacecraft will intentionally crash into asteroid Dimorphos...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Update on DART Mission to Asteroid Dimorphos (NASA News Conference Oct. 11, 2022)

Experts discuss early results of the NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and its intentional collision with its target asteroid, Dimorphos.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

The Challenge of DART – Doing Something that's Never Been Done

This video explains the incredible and complex work that went into making the world's first planetary defense mission.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Telescopic Observations

Telescopic View 147 Days After Impact

These images were acquired on February 21, 2023 by the Lowell Discovery Telescope, 147 days after DART’s impact into Dimorphos. The movie covers just under 6 hours and is composed of images acquired...
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Credit: Lowell Discovery Telescope/Observers: Moskovitz, Knight

Hubble Space Telescope Captures the Evolution of Ejecta

This video shows images acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope starting at 1.3 hours before DART's impact to 18.5 days after impact.

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency/Space Telescope Science Institute/Hubble Space Telescope

Didymos System on November 30, 2022

This video is constructed of images taken on November 30, 2022 by astronomers at Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, USA. It shows the motion of the Didymos system across the sky over the cours...
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Credit: Magdalena Ridge Observatory/NM Tech

Didymos System from September 27—October 21, 2022

This video is constructed of images taken in the first month after the DART impact by astronomers at the ?teh?wai Mt. John Observatory in New Zealand. Each frame of this video is the average over an e...
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Credit: University of Canterbury ?teh?wai Mt. John Observatory / UCNZ

Goldstone and Green Bank Observations

Views of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system obtained from radar facilities at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Goldstone planetary radar in California and the National Science Foundati...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/JPL/NASA JPL Goldstone Planetary Radar/National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory

Hubble Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact

This animated GIF combines three of the images NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted Dimorphos, a moonlet asteroid in t...
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Credit: Science: gif, ESA, Jian-Yang Li (PSI); animation: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Webb Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact

This animation, a timelapse of images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, covers the time spanning just before impact at 7:14 p.m. EDT, Sept. 26, through 5 hours post-impact. Plumes of material ...
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Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Cristina Thomas (Northern Arizona University), Ian Wong (NASA-GSFC); Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

LICIACube

LICIACube Captures the Moment of DART’s Impact

Images from the Italian Space Agency’s Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) taken immediately before and after DART’s impact into Dimorphos show the brightening of the system...
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Credit: ASI/NASA

LUKE camera on ASI's LICIACube Captures Impact

This movie uses images from the LUKE camera on ASI’s LICIACube, captured just after the impact of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART, spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26,...
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Credit: ASI/NASA

Post-Impact LICIACube First Press Images

Animation of two LEIA images showing the change in Dimorphos’ brightness immediately before and immediately after impact (LICIACube-Dimorphos distance = 1020 km)

Credit: ASI/NASA

Launch Activities

DART Launch to MECO

Launch Show: Second Burn

Launch Show: Michelle Chen

Launch Show: Samson Reiny

Launch Show: DART Launch Reaction

Launch Show: Terik Daly

Launch Show: First Stage Separation

Launch Show: Andy Cheng

Launch Show: Countdown to Separation

Watch NASA’s DART Mission Launch (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) Official Broadcast/Stream

Can we change the motion of an asteroid? Our #DARTMission is set to be the first to try! The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is a spacecraft designed to impact an asteroid as a test of...
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NASA Science Live: We’re Crashing a Spacecraft into an Asteroid…on Purpose!

What questions do you have about NASA’s #DARTMission? Listen to our experts as NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) launches soon on a journey to become the world’s first #PlanetaryDef...
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Team

Behind the DART Mission: Inside the DART MOC

DART Mission Operations Manager Ray Harvey discusses the DART Mission Operations Center (MOC) and its critical role in the DART mission.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Behind the DART Mission: The Science Behind Impacts

DART Impact Working Group Lead Angela Stickle discusses planetary impacts and DART's kinetic impact test with Dimorphos

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Behind the DART Mission: Building a Spacecraft

DART Telecommunications Integration and Testing Lead Engineer Joshua Ramirez discusses the communications system and operations of the DART spacecraft.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Behind the Spacecraft: Justyna Surowiec

DART Public Affairs Officer Justyna Surowiec discusses telling the story of the DART mission.

Credit: NASA

Behind the Spacecraft: Kelly Fast

NASA's Kelly Fast discusses the goals of planetary defense and NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

Credit: NASA

Behind the Spacecraft: Michelle Chen

DART's SMART Nav Lead Michelle Chen discusses the onboard, autonomous navigation system that DART will use to target Dimorphos for DART's kinetic impact test.

Credit: NASA

Behind the Spacecraft: Elena Adams

DART Mission System Engineer Elena Adams discusses leading the team to build the DART spacecraft.

Credit: NASA

Behind the Spacecraft: Andy Rivkin

DART Investigation Team Lead Andy Rivkin discusses the astronomical observations of asteroids and the role of such observations in the DART mission.

Credit: NASA

Behind the Scenes: Inspecting DART's Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) Technology (feat Luke Becker)

NASA’s DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is a carefully planned experiment that will help determine if kinetic impactor technology—hurtling a spacecraft, toward a rocky body at speeds of...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

Behind the Scenes: Testing for Electromagnetic Interference on DART (ft. Ken Watson)

DART’s electromagnetic compatibility and interference lead engineer Ken Watson develops requirements and tests to make sure the spacecraft’s many electronic systems will operate before and after l...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

Behind the Scenes: Outfitting the DART Spacecraft with Thermal Blankets, ft. Elisabeth Abel

Elisabeth Abel is the lead thermal engineer on the DART mission. She oversees thermal design and analysis, thermal hardware procurement, fabrication and installation, and thermal testing of the spacec...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

Behind the Scenes: DART High Gain Antenna feat. Matthew Bray

Matthew Bray is the designer and lead engineer for the DART High Gain Antenna (HGA), following the antenna from concept to prototype, flight fabrication, and testing. The DART HGA is a wideband Radial...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

Behind the Scenes: NEXT-C Ion Engine Installation on DART (feat. Lead Propulsion Engineer Jeremy John)

Meet Jeremy John, DART's lead propulsion engineer at APL.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

Behind the Scenes: Assembling the DART Spacecraft (feat. Mechanical Systems Engineer Betsy Congdon)

Meet Betsy Congdon, DART's mechanical systems engineer at APL.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

Animations

Animation of the Simulated Result of DART’s Impact

This movie shows the results of a simulation of DART’s impact event. The topography seen by the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) is represented as boulders (...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/LLNL, Spheral simulation, Kathryn Kumamoto LLNL-VIDEO-845965

Animation of the Geometry of DART’s Impact (Lengthwise View)

This animation combines the local topography of Dimorphos as determined using Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) images and a model of the DART spacecraft orient...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Animation of the Geometry of DART’s Impact (Side View)

This animation combines the local topography of Dimorphos as determined using Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) images and a model of the DART spacecraft orient...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Post-impact view of Dimorphos’ orbit

This animation showing a highly magnified view of how Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos is seen from Earth, approximately one week after the DART impact. Each time around the orbit, Dimorphos passes t...
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Credit: NASA/APL/UMD

Orbital effect of DART's impact on Dimorphos

NASA's first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will impact the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos at roughly 14,000 miles per hour (22,530 kilometers per hour). This...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich

DART's Collision with Dimorphos (side view)

An animation taking a wide-angle view from the side as NASA's first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), collides with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich

DART's Collision from DRACO and SMART Nav's Point of View

An animation from inside NASA's first planetary test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), as it approaches and eventually collides with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. DART uses an au...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich

DART's Collision from Dimorphos' Point of View

NASA's first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will come racing into the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos at roughly 14,000 miles per hour (22,530 kilometers per h...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich

DART's Collision with Dimorphos (back view)

An animation looking from behind as NASA's first planetary defense test mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), collides with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich

LICIACube Activities

Animated clips of LICIACube deployment and subsequent flyby following DART's kinetic impact.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Telescopic Observations

An animation illustrating how observations by telescopes are able to measure the orbital period of Dimorphos about Didymos by measuring the changing brightness of the system over time.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Candece Seling and Nate Rudolph

DART Launch Sequence

Animated DART mission launch sequence

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Didymos Orbit

Animated clip of the Didymos system’s orbit around the Sun.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

DART Animated Infographic

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Animation

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Technology

Smarter Navigation on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be the first-ever mission to test a way to protect Earth from an asteroid strike. But to ensure DART hits its harmless test target, scientists and...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Roll-Out Solar Array Technology on DART

NASA’s DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, recently had its massive solar array “wings” installed at APL. The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) technology provides a compact form and light mas...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Moving the DART Spacecraft to APL’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber

The DART spacecraft was moved to APL’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber for environmental testing in early February 2021.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART Spacecraft Structure Ramps Up Integration and Testing at APL

The DART primary structure returned to APL on May 15 and was moved into a clean room. It will remain on campus for the next year, undergoing assembly and testing ahead of its summer 2021 launch.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART: Unboxing a Spacecraft Structure

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Photos
DRACO

Dimorphos: High-Resolution Mosaic with Named Features

This high-resolution view of Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by DART’s Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layeri...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Dimorphos: High-Resolution Mosaic

This high-resolution view of Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by DART’s Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layeri...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Didymos – North Up

A view of the asteroid Didymos, oriented with its north pole toward the top of the image; this product was produced using an image taken by the DRACO imager.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Dimorphos – North Up

A view of the asteroid Dimorphos, oriented with its north pole toward the top of the image; this product was produced using an image taken by the DRACO imager.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

High-Resolution Didymos and Dimorphos – North Up

Views of the asteroids Dimorphos (left) and Didymos (right), oriented with their north poles toward the top of the image and with each asteroid and their distance to each other to scale. The views of ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Penultimate image

The last complete image of asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, taken by the DRACO imager on NASA's DART mission from ~7 miles (12 kilometers) from the asteroid and 2 seconds before impact. The image shows a p...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Final image

DART's final look at the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos before impact. The spacecraft’s on board DRACO imager took this final image ~4 miles (~6 kilometers) from the asteroid and only 1 second before im...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Last image showing all of Didymos & Dimorphos

Asteroid Didymos (bottom right) and its moonlet, Dimorphos, about 2.5 minutes before the impact of NASA’s DART spacecraft. The image was taken by the onboard DRACO imager from a distance of 570 mile...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Last image showing all of Dimorphos

Asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. DART’s onboard DRACO imager captured this image from a distance of 42 miles (68 kilometers). This image was the la...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Tests Autonomous Navigation System Using Jupiter and Europa

This is a cropped composite of a DART Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) image centered on Jupiter taken during tests of DART’s SMART Nav system. DART was abou...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Sets Sights on Asteroid Target

Composite of 243 images taken by DRACO on July 27, 2022, detecting Didymos.

Credit: JPL DART Navigation Team

NASA's DART Captures One of Night Sky's Brightest Stars

On May 27, DART's high-resolution camera DRACO captured this image of Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one of the solar system's closest neighbors at just 25 light-years. The six ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

NASA's DART Captures One of Night Sky's Brightest Stars

The DART team intentionally captured the star Vega just out of frame of its high-resolution DRACO camera in a test to see how light scatters off the camera's various parts. The halo-like glow around t...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

With Its Single 'Eye,' NASA's DART Returns First Images From Space

On Dec. 10, DART’s DRACO camera captured and returned this image of the stars in Messier 38, or the Starfish Cluster, which lies some 4,200 light years away.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

With Its Single 'Eye,' NASA's DART Returns First Images From Space

After opening the circular door to its telescopic imager, NASA’s DART captured this image of about a dozen stars near where the constellations Perseus, Aries and Taurus intersect.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Telescopic Observations

Hubble Space Telescope View of the Didymos System: March, 2023

This image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on March 1, 2023, showing the ejecta tail that developed following DART’s impact event.

Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

Hubble Space Telescope View of the Didymos System: 28 December, 2022

This image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on December 28, 2022, showing the ejecta tail that developed following DART’s impact event.

Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

Hubble Space Telescope View of the Didymos System: January, 2023

This image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on January 19, 2023, showing the ejecta tail that developed following DART’s impact event.

Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

Hubble Space Telescope View of the Didymos System: November, 2022

This image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on November 30, 2022, showing the ejecta tail that developed following DART’s impact event.

Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

Hubble Space Telescope View of the Didymos System: 14 December, 2022

This image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on December 14, 2022, showing the ejecta tail that developed following DART’s impact event.

Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

Didymos System on November 30, 2022

This image is constructed from several images taken on November 30, 2022 by astronomers at Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, USA. It holds Didymos still in the frame, and thus the background ...
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Credit: Magdalena Ridge Observatory/NM Tech

Goldstone and Green Bank Observations

The bright line across the middle of these images, shows the asteroid Didymos. The images are views of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system obtained from radar facilities at NASA Jet Propu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/JPL/NASA JPL Goldstone Planetary Radar/National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory

Goldstone and Green Bank Observations

The yellow box shows the asteroid Didymos. The images are views of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system obtained from radar facilities at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Goldstone plane...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/JPL/NASA JPL Goldstone Planetary Radar/National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory

Goldstone and Green Bank Observations

The green circle shows the location of the Dimorphos asteroid, which orbits the larger asteroid, Didymos, seen here as the bright line across the middle of the images. The images show the Didymos and ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/JPL/NASA JPL Goldstone Planetary Radar/National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory

Goldstone and Green Bank Observations

The green circle shows the location of the Dimorphos asteroid, which orbits the larger asteroid, Didymos, seen here as the bright line across the middle of the images. The blue circle shows where Dimo...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/JPL/NASA JPL Goldstone Planetary Radar/National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory

Goldstone and Green Bank Observations

The images show a series of radar images captured at different times on Oct. 9, 2022, of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system obtained from radar facilities at NASA Jet Propulsion Laborato...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/JPL/NASA JPL Goldstone Planetary Radar/National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory

Post-impact view from Hubble

This imagery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope from Oct. 8, 2022, shows the debris blasted from the surface of Dimorphos 285 hours after the asteroid was intentionally impacted by NASA’s DART spa...
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Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble

Aftermath of DART Collision with Dimorphos Captured by SOAR Telescope

Astronomers using the NSF’s NOIRLab’s SOAR telescope in Chile captured the vast plume of dust and debris blasted from the surface of the asteroid Dimorphos by NASA’s DART spacecraft when it impa...
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Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/SOAR/NSF/AURA/T. Kareta (Lowell Observatory), M. Knight (US Naval Academy)

Webb, Hubble Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact

These images, Hubble on the left and Webb on the right, show observations of the Didymos-Dimorphos system several hours after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted th...
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Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jian-Yang Li (PSI), Cristina Thomas (Northern Arizona University), Ian Wong (NASA-GSFC); image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Hubble Images Show Movement of Ejecta After Impact

These images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, taken (left to right) 22 minutes, 5 hours, and 8.2 hours after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted Dimorphos, sho...
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Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, Jian-Yang Li (PSI); image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

LICIACube

LICIACube Enhanced Color Images of the Didymos System

These images were acquired by the LUKE camera on LICIACube about 3 minutes after DART’s impact into Dimorphos. These enhanced color representations of the Didymos system were created by combining im...
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Credit: ASI/NASA

LICIACube Shows Plumes of Ejecta

This image from ASI’s LICIACube show the plumes of ejecta streaming from the Dimorphos asteroid after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART, mission, made impact with it on Sept. 26, 2022....
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Credit: ASI/NASA/APL

LICIACube's Closest Approach

ASI’s LICIACube satellite acquired this image just after its closest approach to the Dimorphos asteroid, after the Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART mission, made impact on Sep. 26, 2022. In th...
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Credit: ASI/NASA

LICIACube's Closest Approach

ASI’s LICIACube satellite acquired this image just before its closest approach to the Dimorphos asteroid, after the Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART mission, purposefully made impact on Sep. 2...
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Credit: ASI/NASA

Post-Impact LICIACube First Press Images.

A LEIA image observing Didymos-Dimorphos and the plume (distance LICIACube-Dimorphos = 79.8 km)

Credit: ASI/NASA

Post-Impact LICIACube First Press Images.

LUKE image showing Didymos-Dimorphos and the plume (distance LICIACube-Dimorphos = 56.7 km)

Credit: ASI/NASA

Post-Impact LICIACube First Press Images.

LUKE image showing Didymos-Dimorphos and the plume (distance LICIACube-Dimorphos = 56.7 km)

Credit: ASI/NASA

Post-Impact LICIACube First Press Images.

LUKE image showing Didymos-Dimorphos and the plume (distance LICIACube-Dimorphos = 56.7 km)

Credit: ASI/NASA

DART’s Small Satellite Companion Tests Camera Prior to Dimorphos Impact

Image of the Earth acquired by LICIACube’s LEIA camera on Sept. 21, 2022.

Credit: ASI/NASA

DART’s Small Satellite Companion Tests Camera Prior to Dimorphos Impact

Image of the Pleiades star cluster acquired by LICIACube’s LUKE camera on Sept. 22, 2022.

Credit: ASI/NASA

Ship and Launch Activities

NASA's DART Spacecraft Launches in World's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft sets off to collide with an asteroid in the world's first full-scale planetary defense test mission. Riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DAR...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's DART Spacecraft Launches in World's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft sets off to collide with an asteroid in the world's first full-scale planetary defense test mission. Riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DAR...
VIEW FULL CAPTION

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's DART Spacecraft Launches in World's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft sets off to collide with an asteroid in the world's first full-scale planetary defense test mission. Riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DAR...
VIEW FULL CAPTION

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's DART Spacecraft Launches in World's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft sets off to collide with an asteroid in the world's first full-scale planetary defense test mission. Riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DAR...
VIEW FULL CAPTION

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's DART Spacecraft Launches in World's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft sets off to collide with an asteroid in the world's first full-scale planetary defense test mission. Riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DAR...
VIEW FULL CAPTION

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's DART Spacecraft Launches in World's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft sets off to collide with an asteroid in the world's first full-scale planetary defense test mission. Riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DAR...
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Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Andy Cheng Watching the Launch

Andy Cheng, a Johns Hopkins APL planetary scientist and one of the DART investigation leads, reacts after the successful launch of the DART spacecraft. Cheng was the individual who came up with the id...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Craig Weiman

DART Encapsulated

Inside SpaceX’s Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, both halves of the Falcon 9 rocket’s protective payload fairing move toward NASA’s Double Asteroid Redir...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Removed from Shipping Container

After moving to SpaceX’s payload processing facility on Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, DART team members carefully removed the spacecraft from its shipping container and moved it to a lo...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Spacecraft Lowered

DART team members carefully lower the DART spacecraft onto a low dolly in SpaceX’s payload processing facility on Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Packed and Ready to Move

DART packed and ready to move to SpaceX. DART team members stand outside Astrotech Space Operations’ processing facility with the shipment container holding the DART spacecraft. DART moved to SpaceX...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Arrives at Vandenberg

Placed in specialized container that was carefully strapped to the deck of a semitrailer truck, DART — followed by a small group of team members from Johns Hopkins APL — crossed the country from M...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Arrives at Vandenberg

Inside a clean room at Johns Hopkins APL, the DART spacecraft was moved into a specialized shipping container that headed across the country to Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, California, whe...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Integration and Testing

Install Assistance of LICIACube on behalf of the Italian Space Agency

Engineers Alessandro di Paola (left) and Silvio Patruno from the company Argotech came to help install LICIACube on behalf of the Italian Space Agency. Here, they stand with the DART spacecraft and th...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Inspection the LICIACube CubeSat

DART team engineers lift and inspect the LICIACube CubeSat after it arrived at Johns Hopkins APL in August. The miniaturized satellite will deploy 10 days before DART's asteroid impact, providing esse...
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Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA Final Inspection

In August 2021, DART team members at APL did a final inspection of one of the spacecraft's two roll-out solar arrays (ROSA). These compact, lightweight "wings" will deploy after DART launches and will...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA Final Inspection

In August 2021, DART team members at APL did a final inspection of one of the spacecraft's two roll-out solar arrays (ROSA). These compact, lightweight "wings" will deploy after DART launches and will...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA Final Inspection

In August 2021, DART team members at APL did a final inspection of one of the spacecraft's two roll-out solar arrays (ROSA). These compact, lightweight "wings" will deploy after DART launches and will...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA Final Inspection

In August 2021, DART team members at APL did a final inspection of one of the spacecraft's two roll-out solar arrays (ROSA). These compact, lightweight "wings" will deploy after DART launches and will...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA Release and Shock Test

The DART team at APL fire the locks on the spacecraft's roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in July 2021. These tests simulate the firing that will happen in space, ensuring the shock from the process won’...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA Release and Shock Test

The DART team at APL fire the locks on the spacecraft's roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in July 2021. These tests simulate the firing that will happen in space, ensuring the shock from the process won’...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Separation Shock Test

The APL DART team performs fit and shock tests on the DART spacecraft in July 2021. These tests ensure the spacecraft will properly fit onto the separation system that will connect DART to the launch ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Vibration Tests

Test engineers and the lead structural analyst on APL's DART team closely monitor real-time data of the various accelerations the spacecraft experiences during vibration tests in July 2021.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Vibration Tests

Test engineers and the lead structural analyst on APL's DART team closely monitor real-time data of the various accelerations the spacecraft experiences during vibration tests in July 2021.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Pre-vibration Walkdown

Members of the DART team at APL carefully inspect the DART spacecraft prior to performing vibration tests in July 2021.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Pre-vibration Walkdown

Members of the DART team at APL carefully inspect the DART spacecraft prior to performing vibration tests in July 2021.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Pre-vibration Walkdown

Members of the DART team at APL carefully inspect the DART spacecraft prior to performing vibration tests in July 2021.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Tested on SpaceX Hardware

APL's DART team attaches the spacecraft to a part of SpaceX hardware. The test, performed in July 2021, ensures DART will fit and check out electrically with SpaceX's Falcon 9, the launch vehicle that...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

ROSA (Roll-Out Solar Array) Test

Members of APL's DART team perform a pop-and-catch test with one of DART's roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. The process involves first firing the frangibolt mechanisms that are holding the a...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Mass Properties Testing

In July 2021, the DART spacecraft underwent mass properties testing, a process that isolates the spacecraft's center of mass and provides details about how mass is distributed around the spacecraft. T...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its Second Wing

The DART team at APL inspect and prepare to install the second of the DART spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) in June 2021. These compact, lightweight "wings" wil...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DRACO Integration to Spacecraft

DART team members at APL install and inspect DART's only instrument - the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) - onto the spacecraft in June 2021. This high-resolu...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its First Wing

The DART team at APL prepare to carefully maneuver the first of the spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) and install it on DART in May 2021. These compact, lightwei...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its First Wing

The DART team at APL prepare to carefully maneuver the first of the spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) and install it on DART in May 2021. These compact, lightwei...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its First Wing

The DART team at APL prepare to carefully maneuver the first of the spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) and install it on DART in May 2021. These compact, lightwei...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Gets Its First Wing

The DART team at APL prepare to carefully maneuver the first of the spacecraft's two 28-foot- (8.6-meter-) long roll-out solar arrays (ROSA) and install it on DART in May 2021. These compact, lightwei...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Enters the Thermal Vacuum Chamber

DART Enters the Thermal Vacuum Chamber

With the recent completion of its Pre Environmental Review, DART received the green light to move forward with environmental testing. The DART spacecraft was moved into a thermal vacuum chamber at the...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Enters the Thermal Vacuum Chamber

With the recent completion of its Pre Environmental Review, DART received the green light to move forward with environmental testing. The DART spacecraft was moved into a thermal vacuum chamber at the...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Enters the Thermal Vacuum Chamber

With the recent completion of its Pre Environmental Review, DART received the green light to move forward with environmental testing. The DART spacecraft was moved into a thermal vacuum chamber at the...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Environmental Testing

Environmental Testing

The RLSA is a low-cost, high-gain antenna that enables high-efficiency communications in a compact form. From left, Steve Wenrich and Toomey finalize the installation of the RLSA on the DART spacecraf...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Environmental Testing

DART team members (from left) John Schellhase, Emory Toomey and Lloyd Ellis of APL inspect the radial line slot array (RLSA) antenna before installing it on the spacecraft.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Environmental Testing

The DART spacecraft undergoes electromagnetic interference testing; from left, Alan Busbey performs measurements with Jackie Kilheffer overseeing the process.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's NEXT-C (NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial)

NASA's NEXT-C (NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial) Ion Propulsion System Installation on DART

APL, which manages and is building NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), led the installation of NEXT-C onto the spacecraft on Nov. 10, with team members from Aerojet Rocketdyne on hand to...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's NEXT-C (NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial) Ion Propulsion System Installation on DART

The DART team lifted the thruster bracket assembly off of the assembly table and positioned it at the top of the spacecraft, a delicate and challenging move that required several team members to ensur...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NASA's NEXT-C (NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial) Ion Propulsion System Installation on DART

Once the NEXT-C thruster was safely lowered atop the spacecraft's central cylinder, fasteners were installed to secure the thruster to the DART spacecraft. The team then connected the electrical harne...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

NEXT-C Ion Engine Testing - 2019

NEXT-C ion engine firing during thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing at NASA Glenn Research Center in December 2019.

Credit: NASA Glenn Research Center/Aerojet Rocketdyne/NEXT–C

NEXT-C Ion Engine Firing - 2017

NEXT–C ion engine during ground testing at NASA Glenn Research Center.

Credit: NASA Glenn Research Center/Aerojet Rocketdyne/NEXT–C

NEXT-C Ion Engine Firing - 2017

NEXT–C ion engine firing during testing at Aerospace Corporation in September 2017.

Credit: NASA Glenn Research Center/Aerojet Rocketdyne/NEXT–C

DART Panel Closeout

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Closeout

As the integration and testing phase continues on the DART mission, the APL team carefully closes two of the DART spacecraft’s panels.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Integration

DART Panel Integration

The DART team prepares to integrate the spacecraft’s panels, which house an array of hardware and wiring that will eventually be tucked safely within the spacecraft structure. The panels were opened...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Integration

The DART team prepares to integrate the spacecraft’s panels, which house an array of hardware and wiring that will eventually be tucked safely within the spacecraft structure. The panels were opened...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Integration

The DART team prepares to integrate the spacecraft’s panels, which house an array of hardware and wiring that will eventually be tucked safely within the spacecraft structure. The panels were opened...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Integration

The DART team prepares to integrate the spacecraft’s panels, which house an array of hardware and wiring that will eventually be tucked safely within the spacecraft structure. The panels were opened...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Panel Integration

The DART team prepares to integrate the spacecraft’s panels, which house an array of hardware and wiring that will eventually be tucked safely within the spacecraft structure. The panels were opened...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Control Room Testing

DART Control Room Testing

In the Ground System Equipment control room at APL, engineers perform tests and simulations on the DART spacecraft, which sits behind glass in the clean room.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Control Room Testing

In the Ground System Equipment control room at APL, engineers perform tests and simulations on the DART spacecraft, which sits behind glass in the clean room.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Control Room Testing

In the Ground System Equipment control room at APL, engineers perform tests and simulations on the DART spacecraft, which sits behind glass in the clean room.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Control Room Testing

In the Ground System Equipment control room at APL, engineers perform tests and simulations on the DART spacecraft, which sits behind glass in the clean room.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

APL Receives DART Spacecraft Structure

APL Receives DART Spacecraft Structure 4

"This milestone is the culmination of four years of work," said Jeremy John, DART's lead propulsion engineer, standing here (at right) with Juan Morales. "These last few months have presented several ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

APL Receives DART Spacecraft Structure 2

The DART team has spent the last month installing the electrical harness and subsystems onto the spacecraft panels, as well as testing the spacecraft's avionics and the software for its Small-body Man...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

APL Receives DART Spacecraft Structure 3

The Lab has remained operational during the COVID-19 outbreak to continue to support critical work on-site, including the DART mission ahead of its 2021 launch. The mission's Integration and Test team...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

APL Receives DART Spacecraft Structure 1

The DART team — including (from left) Emory Toomey, Shelly Conkey, Lisa Wu and Steve Wenrich — oversaw the careful move of the refrigerator-sized spacecraft structure to a clean room on APL's camp...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

DART Unboxed 1

DART's mechanical engineering team (from left): Amber Dubill, John Schellhase, Kurt Gantz, Neal Bachtell, Shelly Conkey, Katherine Scherck, Chip Delmar, Betsy Congdon, Doug Ramsay, Lisa Wu, and Juan M...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Unboxed 2

DART's primary structure arrived from Alliance Space Systems in California. The APL mechanical engineering team prepared to carefully unbox what is essentially the body of the spacecraft, an aluminum ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Unboxed 3

After removing paneling, the team surveyed the DART primary structure before preparing it for testing.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Ground-Based Telescopes

The Lowell Discovery Telescope

Credit: Lowell Observatory

The Lowell Discovery Telescope

Credit: Lowell Observatory

Graphics
Miscellaneous

DART's Impact into Dimorphos

This graphic combines the DART spacecraft and the topography of the asteroid Dimorphos to show an artistic depiction of DART’s impact moments before it occurred. The asteroid topography and the impa...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich

Simulated Result of DART’s Impact

This graphic shows the results of a simulation of DART’s impact event. The topography seen by the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) is represented as boulders...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/LLNL, Spheral simulation, Kathryn Kumamoto LLNL-VIDEO-845965

Input for Simulation of DART’s Impact

These graphics show the initial set-up used as input to run a simulation of DART’s impact event. The topography seen by DART’s Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DR...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/LLNL

The DART Spacecraft Immediately Before Impact

This close-up rendering combines the local topography of Dimorphos as determined using Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) images and a model of the DART spacecra...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Location of DART's Impact

This image depicts the footprint of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft and its two long solar panels over the spot where it impacted asteroid Dimorphos. The largest boulder near th...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Geometry of DART's impact

When the DART spacecraft slammed into asteroid Dimorphos, the spacecraft body hit between two large boulders while its two solar panels impacted those boulders. The yellow surface is a digital terrain...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Comparison of Pre- and Post-Impact Near-Infrared Spectra of the Didymos-Dimorphos System

The two spectra shown were taken on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The data were obtained before and after impact (September 26 & 27, 3:00 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time). The p...
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Credit: NASA Infrared Telescope Facility/Weizmann Institute of Science/Massachusetts Institute of Technology

DART and LICIACube with Images of Dimorphos and Didymos

Illustration of NASA’s DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) LICIACube, with images of the asteroids Dimorphos and Didymos obtained by the DART spacecraft.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Joshua Diaz

Analyzing Dimorphos' orbit after impact

This chart offers insight into data the DART team used to determine the orbit of Dimorphos after impact – specifically, small reductions in brightness due to eclipses of Didymos and Dimorphos. The n...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic/Lowell Observatory/JPL/Las Cumbres Observatory/Las Campanas Observatory/European Southern Observatory Danish (1.54-m) telescope/University of Edinburgh/The Open University/Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción/Seoul National Observatory/Universidad de Antofagasta/Universität Hamburg/Northern Arizona University

Telescopes of the Post-Impact Observation Campaign

Graphic of the over five dozen telescopic facilities in space and around the globe that have observed the Didymos asteroid system in support of DART’s global observation campaign after impact. These...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Nancy Chabot/Mike Halstad

DART and ASI’s LICIACube at Didymos System

Illustration of NASA’s DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) LICIACube prior to impact at the Didymos binary system.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Illustration of DART 1

Illustration of DART, from behind

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Vertical Poster

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Collision

Illustration of DART on course to impact Dimorphos, viewed from the side of Dimorphos

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Illustration of the DART Spacecraft

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Illustration of DART 2

Illustration of DART, from behind the NEXT–C ion engine

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Mission Concept (no logos)

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Infographic

Infographic showing the effect of DART's impact on the orbit of Dimorphos

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Planetary Defense

DART is one part of NASA's larger planetary defense efforts.

Credit: NASA

DART Poster

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Infographic of DART and Didymos Sizes

Infographic showing the sizes of the two asteroids in the Didymos system relative to some objects on Earth

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Coloring Page

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Brand Graphic

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Brand Graphic

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Media Resources
B-Roll Videos

DART Impact - MOC Coverage 1

Reactions from team members on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission as the spacecraft made impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, on Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins A...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact - MOC Coverage 2

Reactions from team members on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission as the spacecraft made impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, on Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins A...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Rehearsal 1

On September 1, 2022, the DART Team performed a DART impact rehearsal at the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Elena Adams, the ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Rehearsal 2

On September 1, 2022, the DART Team performed a DART impact rehearsal at the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Elena Adams, the ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Rehearsal 3

On September 1, 2022, the DART Team performed a DART impact rehearsal at the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Elena Adams, the ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact - MOC Coverage (both)

Reactions from team members on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission as the spacecraft made impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, on Sept. 26, 2022.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact - MOC Coverage

Reactions from team members on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission as the spacecraft made impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, on Sept. 26, 2022.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact - MOC Coverage

Reactions from team members on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission as the spacecraft made impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, on Sept. 26, 2022.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Rehearsal

On September 1, 2022, the DART Team performed a DART impact rehearsal at the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Elena Adams, the ...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Rehearsal (DART Team)

On September 1, 2022, the DART Team performed a DART impact rehearsal at the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Impact Rehearsal (DART Team MOC)

On September 1, 2022, the DART Team performed a DART impact rehearsal at the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Smarter Navigation with SMART Nav

SMART Nav is a set of computational algorithms on DART that, with the rest of the spacecraft's guidance and navigation system, will independently find the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos and guide the spac...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

DART Moves to SpaceX PPF at VSFB

ON October 26, 2001, the DART Spacecraft was transported to SpaceX's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. After arrival, the container protecting the DART spacecraft...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART is Lifted from Container to Low Dolly

On October 27, 2021, the DART Spacecraft is lifted from its shipping container to the low dolly in SpaceX's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenburg Space Force Base, California. The spacecraft was t...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART Arrives at Vandenberg Space Force Base

On October 2, 2021, the DART Spacecraft arrived at Astrotech Space Operations, ASO, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The 2876 mile trip from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel,...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART is Put Through the Rigors of Thermal Vacuum Testing

The DART spacecraft underwent thermal vacuum testing at the Johns Hopkins APL's Space Simulation Laboratory in March 2021. The spacecraft's systems were tested while in a vacuum and at extreme hot and...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART's Star Tracker Gets a New Coat

DART's Star Tracker is fitted with a thermal blanket on January 13, 2021, in a cleanroom at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, before undergoing thermal vacuum testing. Technician Min H. Hw...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART Spacecraft Panel Installation

On September 17, 2020, technicians at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, install a panel on the DART spacecraft containing the NEXT-C Power Processing Unit, avionics and...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

The NEXT-C Power Processing Unit is Installed on the DART Spacecraft

The NEXT-C Power Processing Unit (PPU) is installed on the DART spacecraft at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland on September 19, 2020. The PPU provides power to the NEXT...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson

DART's Top Deck Gets a Shiny New Coat

In a cleanroom at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, the top deck of the DART spacecraft is fitted with a shiny new coat of thermal blankets on January 13, 2021. Careful...
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Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Lee Hobson