Elliptical ejecta of asteroid Dimorphos is due to its surface curvature

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Hirabayashi, Masatoshi, Raducan, Sabina D, Sunshine, Jessica M, Farnham, Tony L, Deshapriya, JDP, Li, Jian-Yang, Tancredi, Gonzalo, Chesley, Steven R, Daly, R Terik, Ernst, Carolyn M et al (show 66 more authors) , Gai, Igor, Hasselmann, Pedro H, Naidu, Shantanu P, Nair, Hari, Palmer, Eric E, Waller, C Dany, Zinzi, Angelo, Agrusa, Harrison F, Barbee, Brent W, Syal, Megan Bruck, Collins, Gareth S, Davison, Thomas M, Decoster, Mallory E, Jutzi, Martin, Kumamoto, Kathryn M, Moskovitz, Nicholas A, Lyzhoft, Joshua R, Schwartz, Stephen R, Abell, Paul A, Barnouin, Olivier S, Chabot, Nancy L, Cheng, Andrew F, Dotto, Elisabetta, Fahnestock, Eugene G, Michel, Patrick, Richardson, Derek C, Rivkin, Andrew S, Stickle, Angela M, Thomas, Cristina A, Beccarelli, Joel, Brucato, John R, Dall'Ora, Massimo, Corte, Vincenzo Della, Epifani, Elena Mazzotta, Ieva, Simone, Impresario, Gabriele, Ivanovski, Stavro, Lucchetti, Alice, Modenini, Dario, Pajola, Maurizio, Palumbo, Pasquale, Pirrotta, Simone, Poggiali, Giovanni, Rossi, Alessandro, Tortora, Paolo, Tusberti, Filippo, Zannoni, Marco, Zanotti, Giovanni, Ferrari, Fabio, Glenar, David A, Herreros, Isabel, Jacobson, Seth A, Karatekin, Oezguer, Lazzarin, Monica, Lolachi, Ramin, Lucas, Michael P, Makadia, Rahil, Marzari, Francesco, Merrill, Colby C, Migliorini, Alessandra, Nakano, Ryota, Ormoe, Jens, Sanchez, Paul, Senel, Cem Berk, Soldini, Stefania ORCID: 0000-0003-3121-3845 and Stubbs, Timothy J (2025) Elliptical ejecta of asteroid Dimorphos is due to its surface curvature NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 16 (1). 1602-. ISSN 2041-1723, 2041-1723

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Abstract

Kinetic deflection is a planetary defense technique delivering spacecraft momentum to a small body to deviate its course from Earth. The deflection efficiency depends on the impactor and target. Among them, the contribution of global curvature was poorly understood. The ejecta plume created by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test impact on its target asteroid, Dimorphos, exhibited an elliptical shape almost aligned along its north-south direction. Here, we identify that this elliptical ejecta plume resulted from the target’s curvature, reducing the momentum transfer to 44 ± 10% along the orbit track compared to an equivalent impact on a flat target. We also find lower kinetic deflection of impacts on smaller near-Earth objects due to higher curvature. A solution to mitigate low deflection efficiency is to apply multiple low-energy impactors rather than a single high-energy impactor. Rapid reconnaissance to acquire a target’s properties before deflection enables determining the proper locations and timing of impacts.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	5109 Space Sciences, 51 Physical Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Science & Engineering Faculty of Science & Engineering > School of Engineering
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2025 10:38
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 14:22
DOI:	10.1038/s41467-025-56010-w
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56010-w
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3190985
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