Europe’s Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of an asteroid rammed by NASA in a 2022 test
Hera’s first close image shows the two asteroids separated as it prepares a detailed survey of the DART impact site and debris.
- The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft has resolved the Didymos and Dimorphos asteroids separately for the first time, revealing their binary nature while positioned 197 million km from Earth.
- NASA's DART spacecraft intentionally impacted Dimorphos in September 2022 to test planetary defense capabilities, successfully slowing the asteroid's orbit by around 33 minutes.
- While the larger Didymos measures 780 meters in diameter, the smaller Dimorphos spans about 151 meters; Hera captured the initial image using its Asteroid Framing Camera from 1,280 kilometers away.
- Hera will perform a "crash site investigation" of Dimorphos by deploying two shoebox-sized CubeSats named Milani and Juventas to conduct mineralogical analysis and ground-penetrating radar surveys beneath the surface.
- Planetary defense remains a growing concern among the scientific community and governments worldwide, as this mission aims to better understand asteroids that cross Earth's orbital path.
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64 Articles
The Toronto Star
Europe’s Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of an asteroid rammed by NASA in a 2022 test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A European spacecraft has begun close inspections of an asteroid rammed by NASA four years ago in a planetary defense test.
Associated Press News
Europe's Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of an asteroid rammed by NASA in a 2022 test
A European spacecraft has begun close inspections of a harmless asteroid rammed by NASA four years ago in a planetary defense test.
Reformatorisch Dagblad
The European space probe Hera arrived at its destination on Wednesday. Over the coming period, it will study two space rocks orbiting the sun, nearly 200 million kilometers from Earth. To do so, it uses, among other things, a Dutch camera on board. Hera took just over two years to make the crossing.
The Hera probe from the European Space Agency (ESA) has sent its first near-by image of the Didymos binary system. It was taken 60 kilometers away with its monochrome camera Asteroid Framing Camera and ESA published it on November 5. The photo shows clearly the asteroid Didymos, 780 meters, while the shadow conceals almost its entire moon, Dimorphos, 151 meters. Against that moon the NASA DART ship crashed on September 26, 2022, in a test to cha…
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