Name Approved for Target of Asteroid Deflection Missions

Terra Daily Thursday, 25 June 2020 ()
Name Approved for Target of Asteroid Deflection MissionsMontevideo, Uruguay (SPX) Jun 24, 2020

The International Astronomical Union has just approved an official name for a tiny asteroid satellite set to become the first-ever target of an asteroid deflection mission. The satellite is the smaller of two bodies in the near-Earth asteroid system Didymos, and will now be distinguished from its primary object by the name Dimorphos. In July 2021, just over a year from now, NASA will launc
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Video credit: AmazeLab - Published
News video: Asteroid's Moon that NASA Will Crash a Spacecraft Into Gets New Name

Asteroid's Moon that NASA Will Crash a Spacecraft Into Gets New Name 01:06

 NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission is the first planetary defense test to try to alter an asteroid's motion. After decades of being unofficially called "Didymos B," the space rock gets a new name.