Program: GN-2019A-FT-105

The Didymos binary asteroid system is target of the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART), a NASA mission that will be the first demonstration of planetary defense mitigation. In 2022 DART will impact the moon of the Didymos system (Didymos B aka "Didymoon") and change its orbit period around the system primary, Didymos A, with the results to be observable from Earth via lightcurve measurements. Measuring the baseline, unperturbed behavior of the Didymos system is critical for analyzing the post-impact lightcurve and understanding what effects are caused by DART. We propose to use GMOS at Gemini-North to obtain high precision photometric lightcurves over 1/2 of a rotation period. These observations form part of a wider campaign to characterize Didymos in preparation for the mission as well as to further understand the formation and evolution of a representative member of the NEO population as it pertains to both hazards and resources in near Earth space.