Rotational Properties of Binary Asteroid System (65803) Didymos, Target of the DART/LICIACube and HERA Missions

Near-Earth objects (NEOs), due to their proximity to our planet, represent one of the most accessible bodies in the whole Solar System. Their investigation can provide answers to several pressing questions in modern planetology (regarding, e.g., planetary formation, delivery of water and organics to the early Earth, and emergence of life). Moreover, water and valued minerals stored inside NEOs have already intrigued governments and private companies, allured by the idea of exploiting resources through asteroid mining. However, NEOs can represent a risk for future human civilization, since some of them can be potential impactors. To this purpose, the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) has been approved to be the first demonstration of an hazard mitigation of an asteroid by using a kinetic impactor.