Part 9/11:
- SmartNav: Autonomous navigation essential for precise impact, especially considering the one-and-a-half-minute communication delay with Earth during final moments.
The Impact and Its Measurements
The impact, expected to occur with a sense of anticipation and a dash of humanity’s collective breath held, aims to produce a measurable “ejecta plume”—material thrown out from the collision. Monitoring how much and how effectively this ejecta contributes to changing the satellite's orbit will provide crucial data for future deflection missions.
Scientists plan to analyze the shift in Didymos B's rotation period afterward, expecting a change of approximately 73 seconds. This concrete metric will validate the impact’s success and refine models for future asteroid mitigation efforts.