DART – the First Space-Based Experiment in Planetary Defense against Asteroids

by Dr. David Polishook

Weizmann Institute of Science

at Astrophysics and Cosmology Seminar

Wed, 19 Mar 2025, 11:10
Sacta-Rashi Building for Physics (54), room 207

Abstract

For the first time a planetary defense method of deflecting an asteroid by colliding with it was tested. NASA’s DART mission was designed to measure how the weak structure of asteroids enhances the momentum transferred to it from a spacecraft that is rapidly hitting it. Astronomers from all over the world, including from Israel, observed the impact on September 2022 and the following outcome, with the aim of measuring the change in the asteroid’s orbit but also to examine the material ejected from it, material that reveals what is hidden beneath the asteroid’s surface.
In the talk, I will present the danger from asteroids, the DART mission and its results, and my astronomical role in the investigation team.

Created on 11-03-2025 by Zitrin, Adi (zitrin)
Updaded on 11-03-2025 by Zitrin, Adi (zitrin)