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Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two briefcase-sized Cubesats - Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary - Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos and Dimorphos, an asteroid pair typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.
Planetary defence requires planetary cooperation. Hera is set to rendezvous with the asteroid pair Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two briefcase-sized Cubesats - Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary - Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos and Dimorphos, an asteroid pair typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.
Planetary defence requires planetary cooperation. Hera is set to rendezvous with the asteroid pair in 2026, by which time NASA's DART spacecraft will have already impacted Dimorphos, the smaller of the two asteroids. This cosmic shove is expected to slightly shift Dimorphos' orbit around Didymos.
Hera and its CubeSats will carefully examine the crater left by DART, as well as the surface and interior of the asteroids. Altogether, DART's impact and Hera's data will help us understand whether this technique could be used in future to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
Suitable for kids and adults alike, this episode of 'The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission' takes you on a fun and informative journey to visit Didymos together with Hera. Along the way, you will discover who the main characters are, why this mission is so important, what ESA hopes to achieve with Hera and much more.
Related Links
Hera at ESA
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology
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NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Heads for Earth with Asteroid Sample
Washington DC (SPX) May 11, 2021
After nearly five years in space, NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with an abundance of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. On Monday, May 10, at 4:23 p.m. EDT the spacecraft fired its main engines full throttle for seven minutes - its most significant maneuver since it arrived at Bennu in 2018. This burn thrust the spacecraft away from the asteroid at 600 miles per hour ... read more