Image Credit: Instagram/@europeanspaceagency The DART mission by NASA made history by showcasing a technique for diverting asteroids through kinetic impact. In September 2022, the spacecraft successfully altered the trajectory of asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos. The European Space Agency's Hera mission, launching on October 7 from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, aims to further study the aftermath of this impact. Scheduled to reach the asteroid in October 2026, Hera is the size of a small car and weighs around 1,081 kilograms. The mission seeks to analyze the effects of NASA's DART probe on Dimorphos and gain insights into the double asteroid system. Data from the DART mission, the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes, and ground-based observatories confirm the successful deflection of Dimorphos' trajectory. Hera's investigation will provide critical information to advance scientific understanding and space exploration efforts.The outcomes aim to enhance models for redirecting asteroids away from potential collisions with Earth or space structures. The Hera mission will also investigate a binary asteroid system in-depth, marking the first specialized mission to study such formations like the Didymos and Dimorphos duo. With 15% of known asteroids existing as binaries, this exploration will provide valuable insights into the characteristics and dynamics of asteroids.