Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)
Double Asteroid Redirection Test
past Mission
Type
Impact
Launch
Nov. 24, 2021
Target
Didymos & Dimorphos
Objective
Impact asteroid moonlet Dimorphos
DART was the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact.
![DART Launches](https://cdn.statically.io/img/science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Dimorphos-5.jpeg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
On Sept. 26, 2022, DART impacted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, a small body just 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter. It orbits a larger, 2,560-foot (780-meter) asteroid called Didymos.
Credit: NASA
What Was DART?
DART was the first-ever mission dedicated to investigating and demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection by changing an asteroid’s motion in space through kinetic impact.
Goals | Demonstrate asteroid deflection with a kinetic impactor |
Launch | 10:21 p.m. PST, Nov. 23, 2021, (1:21 a.m. EST, Nov. 24), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California |
Science Targets | Asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos |
Type | Impact on Sept. 26, 2022 |
Funding Agency | NASA |
Related Websites |
DART Stories
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1-dimorphos-before-impact-dart.png?w=4096&format=png)
5 min read
NASA Study: Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact
Article4 months ago
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pdco-michael-collins.jpeg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
3 min read
DART Team Earns Smithsonian Michael Collins Trophy for Successful Planetary Defense Test Mission
Article8 months ago
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/sammies-2023-gala-live-16-1.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
min read
NASA Employees Win Top Federal Award for Asteroid Deflection Mission
News Release
Keep Exploring