Mission Dart, released the Italian probe, will film the impact with the asteroid

The LiciaCube minisatellite of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), which was on board the NASA Dart probe, successfully released, at 1.14 am today Italian time: the vehicle will crash into the asteroid Dimorphos in the night between 26 and 27 September, always at the same time, and the Italian satellite has the task of filming the clash from a safe distance.

Thus, the final phase of this spectacular study mission dedicated to planetary defense comes to life, a test to verify whether a similar approach can be successful in diverting the trajectory of objects that represent a threat to the Earth.

They were intense and agitated hours: the whole LiciaCube group, created by the Argotec company, followed the detachment phase with bated breath, waiting for the signal to be hooked up at 2.04.

The emotion was great, also because for Italy it is the first interplanetary probe.

The team continued to use the communication windows to 'talk' to the small satellite throughout the night.

In fact, the mission has entered its most important phase: in-flight calibration and navigation operations have now begun towards the optimal approach trajectory from which to observe, closely but safely, the impact of Dart on the asteroid and the phenomena successive, first of all the jet of material that will be expelled from its surface.

The NASA Dart probe, on the other hand, has resumed its attitude, to continue the journey that will take it to impact at about 24 thousand kilometers per hour.

The mission started on November 24, 2021, with the aim of reaching a binary system formed by two asteroids: the largest, Didymos, has a diameter of 780 meters, while Dimorphos, which orbits its older brother, has a diameter of 160 meters.

Since the two objects can be observed by ground-based telescopes, it will be easy to verify whether the spacecraft's impact was able to shift Dimorphos' orbit.