The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft has embarked on a mission to investigate the aftermath of a cosmic crash between NASA’s DART spacecraft and the asteroid Dimorphos. This crucial step in humanity’s efforts to develop planetary defense capabilities could one day help protect Earth from the threat of dangerous asteroids. Asteroids are ancient remnants of the solar system’s formation, and understanding their composition and behavior is key to developing effective deflection strategies. The Hera mission will provide valuable insights into the impact’s effects, paving the way for future asteroid mitigation efforts.
Looking at the Aftermath of an Asteroid Strike
The innocuous-sounding Damorphos is a small asteroid now, but icaould one day threaten Earth, and the European Space Agency has sent its Hera spacecraft for a two-year visit to this space rock. It is the second of a two-part planetary defense test, flowing from NASA’s successful DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission in 2022.
DART intentionally plowed the smaller of the two asteroids, Dimorphos, in a dry run for a future planetary defense mission. Now, Hera is preparing to study the scars from this clash and learn key information that could someday help save the planet. The site makes up part of a unique test lab for scientists to see just how well the DART mission did its job and whether they need to adjust their tactics before trying to deflect a real world-threatening near-Earth object (NEO).
Decoding The Riddles of Asteroids
Asteroids are remnants from the distant formation of our solar system and investigating these primitive bodies helps scientists learn more about planetary defense. Hera carries 12 scientific instruments for investigating the asteroid’s mass, shape and surface properties.
The spacecraft will also try to enter orbit around the suitable component of the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system, getting as close as 0.5 mi in gradually reducing flybys. This near-in observation will help scientists determine if the DART impact fundamentally changed Dimorphos’ orbit around its larger companion and if the moonlet is moving end-over-end, or looks more like a kidney bean now. Hera will yield crucial data about the success of the DART deflection test and provide information which could one day be used to help protect Earth from an asteroid impact.
Mars Missions: The Phobos ConnectionCubesats and Radar Observations Revealing the Secrets of Asteroids
For this mission, another spacecraft is included and it is not the only spacecraft with Hera involved. A pair of CubeSats the size of shoeboxes will then be released from the mothership and conduct an even close drone-like probe of their own on Dimorphos. An artist’s impression of the Hera spacecraft in orbit around Didymos and two CubeSats being deployed toward the smaller of its two components during ESA’s Asteroid Impact Mission; Dimorphos is one of these elements, with a Martian moonlet;one will view beneath it surface cluttered with boulders utilizing radar to establish whether or not Didymos is Dimorphos’ parent.
Also, the Cubesats would be aiming to land on Dimorphos, but how feasible this would be if the moonlet is tumbling following the DART impact remains an open question. Hera may also wrap up its mission by landing gently on the Didymos asteroid, the larger of the two. Ultimately, this risky game of chicken will yield valuable insights into what they are made of and how they behave, with the resulting data helping scientists plan more effective methods to defend Earth against these incoming rocks.
