AIDA (Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment) is an international collaboration to demonstrate asteroid deflection by kinetic impact, consisting of two missions: the NASA DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) and the ESA (European Space Agency) AIM (Asteroid Impact Mission). DART is the kinetic impactor, targeted to the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos, in NASA Phase A study during 2015-6. AIM is the monitoring spacecraft, in ESA Phase A/B1 study.

The DART Mission is being developed under the auspices of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. NASA established this office to coordinate planetary defense related activities across NASA, and coordinate both US interagency and international efforts and projects to address and plan response to the asteroid impact hazard.

 

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Image Credit:     NASA – JHU/APL

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