WEBVTT FILE

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One year ago, on September 26,

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2022. NASA's DART mission navigated

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to the small asteroid Dimorphos
and deliberately crashed into it.

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Dimorphos is a tiny moon
orbiting the asteroid Didymos,

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which is just a bit larger than Bennu
and composed of stony material.

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The DART impact shortened Dimorphos’
orbital period by 33 minutes, making it

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the first full scale demonstration
of asteroid deflection technology.

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This summer,
while the Bennu samples were approaching,

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Earth, technicians
in Titusville, Florida, were preparing

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the psyche spacecraft
to visit an asteroid of a different type.

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Psyche is named after its massive target
16 psyche.

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which is about 400 times larger than Bennu
and more than three times as dense.

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The psyche spacecraft will visit
an asteroid that may consist

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of a significant amount of nickel
ion metal mixed with rock.

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It will remotely study 16 psyche's
elemental composition,

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topography
and gravitational and magnetic fields.

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The mission will provide insights
into the formation of terrestrial planets

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like Earth.

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Psyche's
Launch window opens on October 5th.

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November.

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Maybe sweater weather for folks
in the Northern hemisphere.

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But for the Lucy mission,
things will just be heating up.

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On November 1st, Lucy will train
its cameras on the main belt.

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Asteroid Dinkinesh.

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It will take pictures while rapidly
flying by and test its ability

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to track asteroids
during high speed encounters.

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The Dinkinesh flyby will prepare Lucy
for its next encounter

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with the main belt asteroid
Donald Johanson in 2025.

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In 2027, Lucy will begin its long trip
through the Jupiter Trojans

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to swarms of primitive asteroids
trapped in Jupiter's orbit

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that are thought to be
the fossils of planet formation.

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As the weather starts to cool down.

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Hold on to your hats.

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It's going to be an
asteroid autumn to remember.