Will NASA’s Dart Mission Create Visible Meteors In 2022?

Will NASA’s DART mission create visible meteors in 2022? We are all used to watching the results from deep space missions on our computers and mobiles but in the autumn of 2022, those with patience and sharp eyes may be able to see the results of a spectacular deep space mission just by looking up in the night sky.

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft, which, if all goes well, will slam into a space rock and knock it into a different orbit. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL

In September of that year, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will impact the small asteroid called Didymoon in an attempt to subtly change its orbit. This will release a cloud of debris that will expand through space. A new study shows that a handful of small dust particles from the collision could reach the Earth. If so, they will burn up in our atmosphere, becoming visible as meteors.

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