Double Asteroid
Redirection Test

NASA's first planetary
defense test mission

Mission Overview

DART is the first-ever space mission to demonstrate asteroid deflection by kinetic impactor.

Impactor Spacecraft

The DART impactor is a simple spacecraft, equipped with a camera and the ability to autonomously guide itself to impact the asteroid.

Planetary Defense

"Planetary defense" encompasses activities undertaken to understand the hazards posed to Earth by potential impacts of asteroids and comets and to develop approaches to prevent or minimize the effects of those impacts.

Become a

Planetary Defender

Support the DART mission by becoming a "Planetary Defender". Participants who take a short quiz earn a certificate and badge that they can download, print and share on social media.

DART, NASA's First Planetary Defense Test Mission

NASA's first test mission for planetary defense, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) seeks to test and validate a method to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat. The DART mission shifted an asteroid's orbit through kinetic impact – specifically, by successfully smashing a spacecraft into the smaller member of the binary asteroid system Didymos.

View Gallery

DART News

Seven Asteroids Are Named for DART Team Members


Johns Hopkins APL Communications Team Wins Gold for DART Impact Campaign


DART Mission Recognized for Aerospace Excellence


Fast Company Names Two Johns Hopkins APL Innovations as ‘World Changing Ideas’


Johns Hopkins APL’s DART Lead Ed Reynolds Named One of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People


DART Team Earns National Space Club and Foundation Aerospace Award


NASA's DART Data Validates Kinetic Impact as Planetary Defense Method


Scientists Following a Dusty Tail to Shape the Story of DART’s Impact


DART Mission Earns Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” for Pioneering Planetary Defense Capability


NASA Confirms DART Mission Impact Changed Asteroid’s Motion in Space


Webb, Hubble Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact


Bullseye! NASA’s DART Mission Impacts Asteroid Target in World First


DART’s Small Satellite Companion Tests Camera Prior to Dimorphos Impact


NASA Invites Media to Witness World’s First Planetary Defense Test


DART Tests Autonomous Navigation System Using Jupiter and Europa


DART’s Small Satellite Companion Takes Flight Ahead of Impact


DART Sets Sights on Asteroid Target


DART Team Confirms Orbit of Target Asteroid


NASA's DART Captures One of Night Sky's Brightest Stars


Johns Hopkins APL Named One of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Space Companies


With Its Single 'Eye,' NASA's DART Returns First Images From Space


NASA’s DART Spacecraft Launches in World’s First Planetary Defense Test Mission


APL DART Team Prepares for Launch of NASA’s First Planetary Defense Test Mission


DART Arrives at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Its Final Stop Before Launch


DART Gets Its CubeSat Companion, Its Last Major Piece


Smarter Navigation on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test


DART Gets Its Wings: Spacecraft Integrated with Innovative Solar Array Technology and Camera


SMART Nav: Giving Spacecraft the Power to Guide Themselves


Behind the Scenes: Testing for Electromagnetic Interference on DART (ft. Ken Watson)


NASA Selects Four Scientists to Join the DART Planetary Defense Mission


Behind the Scenes: Outfitting the DART Spacecraft with Thermal Blankets, ft. Elisabeth Abel


NASA's First Planetary Defense Test Mission


Behind the Scenes: DART High Gain Antenna


DART Launch Moves to Secondary Window


DART Mission Heats Up, Enters Environmental Testing


Behind the Scenes: NEXT-C Ion Engine Installation on DART


DART Team Takes a Last Look at Asteroid Target Before Launch


DART Spacecraft Outfitted with Next-Gen Technology Demonstration Propulsion System


Behind the Scenes: Assembling the DART Spacecraft (feat. Mechanical Systems Engineer Betsy Congdon)


How to Build a Spacecraft to Save the World


This spacecraft is being readied for a one-way mission to deflect an asteroid


Predicting the Unpredictable - The Dynamics of DART's Dive Into an Asteroid


Staying Aligned During COVID-19: APL Propels Space Missions Forward


NASA's First Planetary Defense Mission Target Gets a New Name


NASA planetary defense efforts continue during pandemic


Johns Hopkins APL Receives DART Spacecraft Structure and Ramps Up Integration and Testing


Why NASA plans to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid


NASA’s First Planetary Defense Mission Readies for Integration and Testing at APL


NASA’s Plan to Stop an Asteroid Headed for Earth


Building a Brand


DART Receives First Flight Guidance and Control Sensor


DART Project Successfully Completes Critical Milestone


We’re going to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid to try to deflect it


A Launch Four Centuries in the Making


What's in the Box? DART Team Unpacks a Spacecraft


A Visit to SpaceX


Scientists turn up the spotlight on space perils (and prospects) for Asteroid Day


NBC News: Inside scientists’ new plan to deflect asteroids away from Earth


NASA’s First Planetary Defense Technology Demonstration to Collide with Asteroid in 2022


What if a killer asteroid were headed toward Earth? NASA plans to find out this week


Observing Didymos in 2019: Using Telescopes to Understand Our Target


DART Mission Set to Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9


Smart Teams + Smart Algorithms = SMART Nav


ESA plans mission to smallest asteroid ever visited


An asteroid could destroy humanity like it did dinosaurs. A Hopkins team has a plan to save the world.


Humanity Will Slam a Spacecraft into an Asteroid in a Few Years to Help Save Us All


What Could be More Exciting Than Crashing a Spacecraft Into an Asteroid?


Collision Course


Asteroids have been hitting the Earth for billions of years. In 2022, we hit back.


APL-Led Asteroid-Deflection Mission Passes Key Development Milestone


White House releases near Earth object action plan


Space scientists have big plans to avert an asteroid apocalypse


Course Corrector: Managers of proposed mission hope to protect Earth from giant space rocks


NASA Pushes Through with Asteroid Deflection Mission That Could One Day Save Earth


NASA Spacecraft Would Smash Into an Asteroid as a Dry Run for Saving the Planet


NASA unveils plan to test asteroid defense technique


NASA'S First Asteroid Deflection Mission Enters Next Design Phase at Johns Hopkins APL


Earth’s Best Defense Against Killer Asteroids Needs Cash


Can We Deflect Asteroids?


We really need to figure out how to stop a killer asteroid, scientists say


Space Scientists Rally Support for 2020 Asteroid-Deflection Mission


European Asteroid Mission Could Launch Soon, Target Space Rock Moves Near Earth


All DART News