I think everyone here is ignoring how material gets ejected by the impact. They know the momentum of both the spacecraft and asteroid very well. There's nothing new the impact will show in regards to that very basic momentum conservation problem.
What they are actually trying to characterize is the way debris is ejected by the impact. This ejecta carries off its own momentum and can impart a significant additional momentum to the asteroid.
VolvoRacerNumber5 t1_iqywdop wrote
Reply to comment by ciroluiro in After DART: Using the first full-scale test of a kinetic impactor to inform a future planetary defense mission by EricFromOuterSpace
I think everyone here is ignoring how material gets ejected by the impact. They know the momentum of both the spacecraft and asteroid very well. There's nothing new the impact will show in regards to that very basic momentum conservation problem.
What they are actually trying to characterize is the way debris is ejected by the impact. This ejecta carries off its own momentum and can impart a significant additional momentum to the asteroid.