ESA's Hera probe arrives at Dimorphos to inspect NASA's DART crash site
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The gist
Europe's Hera spacecraft reached the Dimorphos-Didymos system to survey the asteroid NASA struck in 2022.
Its findings will show whether a deliberate crash can deflect a threatening asteroid.
Background
Hera is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to the Didymos binary asteroids, where NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the smaller asteroid Dimorphos in 2022 — the first test of planetary defense, the idea of nudging a threatening asteroid off course. Hera is following up that strike to scout what the collision actually accomplished. It arrives this month after a 2024 launch from Cape Canaveral and a 2025 Mars flyby that adjusted its course.
How it unfolded
- Sep 26, 2022NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the small asteroid Dimorphos in humanity's first test of planetary defense.
- Oct 7, 2024ESA's Hera mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, just ahead of Hurricane Milton.
- Spring 2025Hera flew past Mars, shifting its course and boosting its speed.
- Oct 2, 2026Hera performed a brief test burn ahead of its first Braking Manoeuvre (BRM-1).
- Oct 15, 2026Hera was to rotate so its ring of Orbit Control Thrusters faced the Didymos system, with three hydrazine thrusters burning continuously for 93 minutes to slow its approach by a few hundred metres per second.
- Oct 2026Hera arrives at the Dimorphos-Didymos system to inspect the DART crash site.
- Nov-Dec 2026Hera will take baseline measurements of the asteroids from 25 to 30 kilometers away.
- Jan 2027Once settled in, Hera will release two tiny companion probes, Milani and Juventas.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- ESA flight dynamics engineer Francesco Castellini said a brief test burn on 2 October was followed by generating the full sequence of commands for the first braking manoeuvre.
Still unverified
The fate of the Ramses mission depends on decisions at the ESA Ministerial Council in November, with Japan's likely participation possibly persuading member countries to give a final green light.