Miami (AFP) Oct 7, 2024
Europe's Hera probe successfully launched Monday on a mission to inspect the damage done by a NASA spacecraft that smashed into an asteroid during the first test of Earth's planetary defences. Despite fears that an approaching hurricane could delay the launch, the probe blasted off on a SpaceX rocket into cloudy skies from Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida just before 11:00 am local

Video: 00:03:03

ESA’s Hera mission lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on 7 October at 10:52 local time (16:52 CEST, 14:52 UTC).

Hera is ESA’s first planetary defence mission. It will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million asteroids in our Solar System – the only body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to solve lingering unknowns associated with its deflection.

Hera will carry out the first detailed survey of a ‘binary’ – or double-body – asteroid, 65803 Didymos, which is orbited by a smaller

Video: 00:04:05

ESA’s Hera mission lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on 7 October at 10:52 local time (16:52 CEST, 14:52 UTC).

Hera is ESA’s first planetary defence mission. It will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million asteroids in our Solar System – the only body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to solve lingering unknowns associated with its deflection.

Hera will carry out the first detailed survey of a ‘binary’ – or double-body – asteroid, 65803 Didymos, which is orbited by a smaller

Video: 00:11:35

Hera, ESA’s first planetary defence mission, is headed to space.

Hera will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million known asteroids of our Solar System – the first body to have had its orbit shifted by human action – to probe lingering unknowns related to its deflection.

Hera is scheduled for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, today, Monday 7 October, at 16:52 CEST / 15:52 BST.

Los Angeles CA (SMN) Oct 07, 2024
These days, a divorce involves much more than just a formal separation. It is a multi-dimensional process that touches every aspect of finances, emotional well-being, and sociologically, how families stay connected. The difficulties and complications of divorce change along with societal perspectives on marriage and relationships. Modern divorces are impacted by evolving legal policies, ne

Image: Mission control GO for Hera launch

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
Peering deep into the universe's past, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has identified a galaxy with an unusual light signature that could represent an important stage in galactic evolution. The galaxy, GS-NDG-9422, was observed about a billion years after the big bang and may provide clues about the transition between the universe's first stars and more familiar galaxies. "The first thin

Paris, France (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
During its June 2023 flyby of Mercury, ESA's BepiColombo spacecraft gathered critical data on the planet's magnetic field, offering insights into its dynamic magnetosphere. This brief encounter hints at the deeper mysteries BepiColombo will uncover when it enters orbit in 2026. Mercury, like Earth, has a magnetic field, though it is about 100 times weaker. Despite this, the planet's magnet

London, UK (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
Researchers from Heriot-Watt University have released new high-resolution images of the Nadir Crater, an asteroid impact site buried deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. The crater, located about 300 meters below the seafloor, spans approximately 9 kilometers in width and was formed by an asteroid collision around 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. The Nadir Crater, dis

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 04, 2024
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) to advance the development of the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI), the first defensive countermeasure designed to address the growing threat of hypersonic missiles. This next phase of the program follows a three-year collaboration with MDA that has resulted in an innovative design aimed at neutralizing both