---
title: "The Asteroid NASA Smashed Is Now Healing, Scientists Suggest"
description: "In September 2022, NASA intentionally smashed its DART spacecraft into a tiny asteroid called Dimorphos. It may now be \"healing.\""
date: "2024-02-27"
modified: "2024-02-27"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/asteroid-nasa-smashed-healing"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "asteroids"
  - "dart"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# The Asteroid NASA Smashed Is Now Healing, Scientists Suggest

![In September 2022, NASA intentionally smashed its DART spacecraft into a tiny asteroid called Dimorphos. It may now be "healing."](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/asteroid-nasa-smashed-healing.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Mighty Morphin Asteroid

In September 2022, NASA [intentionally smashed](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-smashed-asteroid-dimorphos>) its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft into a tiny asteroid called Dimorphos, a landmark test to see whether we could divert potentially dangerous space rocks in the future.

The collision was powerful enough to knock Dimorphos off its trajectory, releasing copious amounts of dust and loose rock in the process, as seen in [spectacular images](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/webb-hubble-nasa-asteroid-dart>) taken by NASA's Hubble and Webb space telescopes.

Now, scientists who simulated the space rock suggest that Dimorphos' shape may be changing — even "healing," as [*ScienceAlert* puts it](<https://www.sciencealert.com/asteroid-struck-by-a-spacecraft-might-be-healing-as-its-surface-reforms>) — after being brutally hit.

In a [new paper](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02200-3>) published in the journal *Nature Astronomy*, researchers argue that the European Space Agency's upcoming Hera mission to the site of the impact "may find a reshaped asteroid rather than a well-defined crater."

The simulation supports the theory that the asteroid is nothing more than a "weak" pile of "rubble" that was formed through loose rocks being shed by Dimorphos' larger binary twin Didymos — which could have considerable implications for future asteroid redirection efforts.

## Deform and Void

The team of scientists led by planetary scientist Sabina Raducan of the University of Bern, Switzerland, simulated Dimorphos and DART to account for the observed effects the collision had on the space rock.

According to their research, the impact left a huge mark on the suspected "rubble pile."

"Our simulations indicate that the DART impact caused global deformation and resurfacing of Dimorphos," the paper reads.

The researchers suggest Dimorphos was formed by accreting fine grains from its larger cousin Didymos over a "period of several days to years," which could mean that other similarly formed asteroid moons could also be "easily reshaped" and that their surfaces are "relatively young."

"Overall, the findings of this study provide valuable information for understanding the formation and characteristics of binary asteroids and will inform future exploration and asteroid deflection efforts," the researchers wrote in their paper.

**More on DART:** *[Incredible New Videos Show NASA Smashing Into Asteroid](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-dart-asteroid-smash-videos>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)