Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) images objects in the near-infrared range from 0.6 to 5 microns, so Neptune does not appear blue to Webb. Together, they will collect images and help guide LICIACube on its journey. On the CubeSat are two cameras called LUKE (LICIACube Unit Key Explorer) and LEIA (LICIACube Explorer Imaging for Asteroid). This briefcase-size CubeSat hitched a ride with DART to space and detached from the spacecraft on September 11. Images will continue to come through and be displayed for about eight seconds afterward as they travel through space to Earth, said Edward Reynolds, DART project manager at the Applied Physics Lab.Īlso on the journey is the Italian Space Agency’s Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids, or LICIACube. On the broadcast, expect to hear that the team has lost radio contact with DART. “Our last image is probably going to be from about two and a half seconds prior to impact, so the DRACO field of view is actually going to be completely filled with this beautiful image of Dimorphos,” said Elena Adams, DART mission systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Scientists will finally be able to ascertain Dimorphos’ shape, as well as if its surface is rough or smooth.Īn illustration shows NASA's DART spacecraft and the Italian Space Agency's LICIACube prior to impact. The pinpricks of light will sharpen, revealing the two separate celestial bodies. In the final hour of approach, Dimorphos and Didymos will come into view. Humans have never actually seen Dimorphos before because the asteroid system just appears as a single point of light in ground-based telescopes. What starts as 1 pixel will eventually become an incredibly detailed look at Dimorphos before DART slams into it. Those images will be shared at a rate of one per second, providing a video-like experience for viewers. The DART spacecraft is carrying an imager called DRACO, short for Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation, that will share a live stream of images as it nears the double-asteroid system. Then, the space agency will hold a post-event briefing to discuss what happened. ET Monday, and it will last until 7:30 p.m. Here’s what to expect on the day of the event.Ī live broadcast will kick off on NASA’s website beginning at 6 p.m. ![]() Currently, there are no asteroids (Didymos and Dimorphos included) that are expected to hit our world. It’s a test of deflection technology that could one day be used to protect Earth if a space rock is determined to be on an impact trajectory with our planet. The impact, if successful, will slightly change the motion of the asteroid. ET when it slams into Dimorphos, a tiny asteroid moon orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos. The NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test aims to make history on Monday at 7:14 p.m.
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