Physical properties of asteroid Dimorphos as derived from the DART impact

Raducan, S. D.; Jutzi, M.; Cheng, A. F.; Zhang, Y.; Barnouin, O.; Collins, G. S.; Daly, R. T.; Davison, T. M.; Ernst, C. M.; Farnham, T. L.; Ferrari, F.; Hirabayashi, M.; Kumamoto, K. M.; Michel, P.; Murdoch, N.; Nakano, R.; Pajola, M.; Rossi, A.; Agrusa, H. F.; Barbee, B. W.; Syal, M. Bruck; Chabot, N. L.; Dotto, E.; Fahnestock, E. G.; Hasselmann, P. H.; Herreros, I.; Ivanovski, S.; Li, J. -Y.; Lucchetti, A.; Luther, R.; Ormö, J.; Owen, M.; Pravec, P.; Rivkin, A. S.; Robin, C. Q.; Sánchez, P.; Tusberti, F.; Wünnemann, K.; Zinzi, A.; Epifani, E. Mazzotta; Manzoni, C.; May, B. H.

doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02200-3

Title: Physical properties of asteroid Dimorphos as derived from the DART impact

Journal Article · Mon Feb 26 00:00:00 EST 2024 · Nature Astronomy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02200-3· OSTI ID:2318792

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Univ. of Bern (Switzerland)
Johns Hopkins Univ., Laurel, MD (United States)
Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Universite Cote d'Azur, Nice (France); Univ. of Tokyo (Japan)
Univ. of Toulouse (France)
National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) (Italy). Astronomical Observatory of Padova (OAPD)
National Research Council (CNR) (Italy). Institute of Applied Physics "Nello Carrara" (IFAC)
Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Universite Cote d'Azur, Nice (France)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Roma (Italy)
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
Spanish National Research Council and National Institute of Aerospace Technology (CSIC-INTA) (Spain). Centro de Astrobiología (CAB)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Trieste (Italy). Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ (United States)
Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin (Germany)
Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) (Czech Republic). Astronomical Institute
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Rome (Italy). Space Science Data Center
London Stereoscopic Company (United Kingdom)

On 26 September 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully impacted Dimorphos, the natural satellite of the binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos. Numerical simulations of the impact provide a means to find the surface material properties and structures of the target that are consistent with the observed momentum deflection efficiency, ejecta cone geometry and ejected mass. Our simulation that best matches the observations indicates that Dimorphos is weak, with a cohesive strength of less than a few pascals, like asteroids (162173) Ryugu and (101955) Bennu. We find that the bulk density of Dimorphos ρ_B is lower than ~2,400 kg m^–³ and that it has a low volume fraction of boulders (≲40 vol%) on the surface and in the shallow subsurface, which are consistent with data measured by the DART experiment. These findings suggest that Dimorphos is a rubble pile that might have formed through rotational mass shedding and reaccumulation from Didymos. Our simulations indicate that the DART impact caused global deformation and resurfacing of Dimorphos. ESA’s upcoming Hera mission may find a reshaped asteroid rather than a well-defined crater.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 2318792

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-846795; 1071231

Journal Information:: Nature Astronomy, Journal Name: Nature Astronomy; ISSN 2397-3366

Publisher:: Springer NatureCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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