## ESA’s Post-Asteroid Deflection Mission To Launch In October ### **Key Points** - The European Space Agency's (ESA) post-asteroid deflection mission, Hera, is set to launch in October. - Hera will be the first spacecraft sent to a binary asteroid system, Didymos, to study the effects of NASA's DART impact in 2022. - The Hera mission will provide valuable data on asteroid deflection techniques, which could help protect Earth from future asteroid impacts. ### **Hera Mission Overview** The Hera mission, scheduled to launch in October 2024, is a key component of the international effort to develop and demonstrate asteroid deflection technologies. The mission will study the effects of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact on the binary asteroid system Didymos, which consists of a larger asteroid (Didymos A) and a smaller moon (Didymos B). The DART impact, which occurred in September 2022, successfully altered the orbit of Didymos B, providing valuable data on the effectiveness of kinetic impactors as a means of asteroid deflection. ### **Mission Objectives** The Hera mission has several key objectives, including: - Characterizing the physical and geological properties of the Didymos asteroids, including their size, shape, mass, and composition. - Measuring the impact crater and ejecta from the DART impact and studying the changes in the orbit and spin state of Didymos B. - Investigating the internal structure of Didymos B using radar and other instruments to determine its density and porosity. - Demonstrating new technologies for asteroid deflection, including a miniaturized ion propulsion system for precise navigation and station-keeping. ### **Scientific Importance** The Hera mission will provide valuable scientific data that will help improve our understanding of asteroids and their potential impact hazard. By studying the effects of the DART impact, scientists will gain insights into the effectiveness of kinetic impactors as a means of asteroid deflection. The mission will also provide data on the physical and geological properties of binary asteroid systems, which are common in the solar system. This information will help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of asteroids and improve our ability to predict their behavior. ### **International Collaboration** The Hera mission is a collaborative effort involving scientists and engineers from across Europe and Japan. The spacecraft was built by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany, and it will be launched on an Ariane 6 rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The mission is managed by ESA's Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, and the scientific payload is led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany.
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