See my post on impact back in September 2020 Bullseye! DART Impacts Dimorphos

Scientists were hoping to nudge the space rock's orbit by just over a minute, but the impact delivered an absolute wallop, shortening its orbital time by a jaw-dropping 33 minutes!

Because Dimorphos turns out to be a loosely packed "rubble pile" asteroid, the crash blasted a massive plume of rocks and dust out into the void, acting like a giant rocket booster that doubled the total punch.

But the chaos didn't stop there - this cosmic collision was so intense it gave the asteroid an entire makeover, reshaping it from a squashed ball into a funky, oblong watermelon (or Triaxial ellipsoid, as NASA like to call it)!

For the first time ever, humanity has actively altered the orbit of a celestial body around the Sun, proving that if a rogue space rock ever threatens Earth, we have the cosmic muscles to flex back. It’s official: planetary defense is no longer just the stuff of Hollywood sci-fi movies, and our planet just became a whole lot safer!

NASA Study:
Asteroid’s Orbit, Shape Changed After DART Impact