Asteroid Impact Mission. Illustration of the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) spacecraft at its target, the binary asteroid 65803 Didymos. AIM is part of

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Asteroid Impact Mission. Illustration of the Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) spacecraft at its target, the binary asteroid 65803 Didymos. AIM is part of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission, a pair of space probes which would study and demonstrate the kinetic effects of crashing an impactor spacecraft into an asteroid moon. The mission is intended to test whether a spacecraft could successfully deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Originally two spacecraft were proposed: HERA, built by ESA, which would orbit the asteroid, and DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) built by NASA, which would impact its moon. Currently the HERA mission is cancelled. DART is planned for 2021.

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Size: 7323px × 3661px
Photo credit: © DETLEV VAN RAVENSWAAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, aida, aim, artwork, assessment, asteroid, astronomical, astronomy, deflection, didymos, illustration, impact, impactor, mission, probe, space, spacecraft