65803 Didymos

Asteroid 65803 Didymos is a binary asteroid system consisting of two components: Didymos A and its smaller moonlet, informally known as Didymoon or Dimorphos. Discovered on April 11, 1996, by the Spacewatch project at Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona, Didymos is a near-Earth asteroid located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Didymos A, the larger primary asteroid, measures approximately 780 meters (2,560 feet) in diameter, while Dimorphos, its moonlet, is about 160 meters (525 feet) in diameter. The NASA mission, called Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART), involves crashing a spacecraft into Dimorphos to alter its orbit around Didymos. The impact is intended to change the moonlet's orbital period, allowing scientists to study the effects and measure any resulting changes in its orbit. The impact was successfully conducted in August of 2022, and shortened the moon’s orbit by 32 minutes.