The NASA DART mission achieved a remarkable milestone in demonstrating a method of deflecting an asteroid by altering its motion through kinetic impact. The mission successfully impacted the asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos in September 2022, changing their trajectories. Now, the European Space Agency's Hera mission is preparing to launch to map the same asteroid, scheduled for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on October 7 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Hera spacecraft, about the size of a small car and weighing approximately 1,081 kilograms, will travel millions of kilometers to reach its destination by October 2026.

ESA's Hera mission aims to study the effects of NASA's DART probe's impact on Dimorphos and the double asteroid. Data from an Italian CubeSat deployed before the DART mission, as well as images from the DART probe and observations from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes, provide valuable information about the event. Analysis from ground-based telescopes around the world confirmed that DART successfully altered Dimorphos's trajectory, resulting in a shortened orbital period. The impact created a trail thousands of kilometers long, potentially impacting Earth's atmosphere in the future.

Hera's main objective is to investigate the aftermath of the impact to further understanding in the scientific community and help space agencies with future studies.The objective is to achieve results and enhance models for redirecting asteroids from potential collisions with Earth or space structures. Additionally, the Hera mission aims to extensively explore a binary asteroid system, marking the first dedicated mission for studying such asteroid pairs like Didymos and Dimorphos. Since 15% of known asteroids are binaries, this research will provide valuable insights into the characteristics and dynamics of asteroids.