Deflecting Asteroids Isn’t Simple According to New Data from DART

Sometimes a mission can be too successful. When NASA’s DART spacecraft slammed into Dimorphos in 2022 as part of an asteroid redirection test, it altered the asteroids orbit, proving that kinetic impactors can be used to defend Earth from hazardous objects. Unfortunately, the impact also created a shower of boulders that also gave Dimorphos an unpredicted kinetic kick.