Image Credit: Instagram/@europeanspaceagency
The DART mission by NASA accomplished a significant milestone in asteroid deflection by modifying the motion of an asteroid in space through kinetic impact. In September 2022, a low-cost spacecraft successfully changed the trajectory of asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos by impacting them. Now, the European Space Agency's Hera mission is preparing to launch and map the same asteroid. Scheduled to depart from Cape Canaveral on October 7 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Hera spacecraft, roughly the size of a small car and weighing around 1,081 kilograms, will travel millions of kilometers before reaching its target in October 2026. The primary objective of this ESA mission is to analyze the impact of NASA's DART probe on Dimorphos, aiming to understand the consequences of the collision on the double asteroid.
The Hera mission will build upon the information gathered during the DART mission by utilizing images taken before the impact by a CubeSat deployed onboard and data captured by the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes (JWST). Observations from ground-based telescopes confirmed the successful trajectory redirection of Dimorphos by DART, along with the noticeable decrease in its orbital period around Didymos post-impact. Studies indicate that the impact created a trail spanning thousands of kilometers, potentially leading the debris to enter Earth's atmosphere.
Hera's mission objectives primarily revolve around investigating the aftermath of DART's impact to provide valuable insights for the scientific community and space agencies.The aim is to generate findings and enhance models for efficiently diverting asteroids away from potential collisions with Earth or space structures. Moreover, the Hera mission is set to carry out a thorough examination of a dual asteroid system. This mission marks the inaugural dedicated effort in investigating asteroid pairs, including the Didymos and Dimorphos duo. Roughly 15% of all identified asteroids exist in binary form, underscoring the significance of this expedition in advancing our knowledge of asteroid characteristics and dynamics.
