"Hera" mission to investigate asteroid hit
What happens when humanity flies a probe into an asteroid? Two years after such an impact, the "Hera" mission is supposed to take a look.
Larger asteroids can have devastating effects if they hit the Earth. Based on the data from "Dart" and "Hera", Esa wants to see how such a chunk can best be deflected.
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The European space agency Esa is launching the "Hera" mission to better protect humanity from asteroids from space in the future. The space probe could be launched on Monday. It will investigate what the impact of the "Dart" probe two years ago did to Dimorphos, the smaller part of a double asteroid.
"Hera" is scheduled to fly off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on board a Falcon 9 rocket from the private space company SpaceX. The earliest possible date is Monday; the launch window is three weeks long. Following an irregularity during the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket at the end of September, SpaceX announced that it would not take off again until the cause was better understood. Esa nevertheless assumes that "Hera" could fly on Monday at 16:52.
26-month journey
After take-off, "Hera" will have a long journey through space ahead of it, flying past Mars and arriving at its destination in December 2026 after more than two years. Hera" will be controlled from the control center in Darmstadt. Germany is the largest contributor to the 383 million euro mission.
The probe is equipped with various cameras as well as laser and radar-based measuring systems. "Hera" is intended to provide answers as to what the approximately 160-metre-long asteroid Dimorphos looks like now, whether it has a crater or has been deformed, how heavy it is and what its internal structure looks like.
Asteroids no longer delivered
Larger asteroids can have devastating effects. For example, a hit around 66 million years ago is considered to be the main cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other creatures.
If, in the future, a larger asteroid is seen approaching Earth at an early stage, it could be flown to and studied, explained Richard Moissl, head of Esa's Planetary Defense Office. Based on the data from "Dart" and "Hera", it would be possible to see how such a lump could best be deflected.
(nen)