The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch its Hera spacecraft on a groundbreaking mission to study the aftermath of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which deliberately crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022. This marked the first real test of Earth's planetary defences, with the goal of deflecting a potential planet-threatening asteroid. Hera will inspect the asteroid to understand the damage caused by the impact and gather crucial data about Dimorphos.
DART’s successful deflection: Humanity’s first planetary defence test
The DART mission successfully altered the course of Dimorphos, a pyramid-sized asteroid located 11 million kilometres (6.8 million miles) from Earth. The impactor, about the size of a fridge, managed to knock the asteroid off its original path. This was a significant step in demonstrating that humanity can potentially defend itself from future asteroid threats.
Why Hera’s ‘crime scene investigation’ is necessary
However, many questions remain unanswered. Scientists are still unsure how much damage was done and what the asteroid was like before the impact. To address these unknowns, the European Space Agency said it was sending Hera to the asteroid to conduct a "crime scene investigation" in the hopes of learning how Earth can best fend off asteroids that pose a threat.
Hera is tentatively set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, a recent "anomaly" during the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronaut mission has raised the possibility of a delay. ESA’s Hera project manager, Ian Carnelli, has said that approval is needed from the US Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and SpaceX. The mission's launch window will remain open until October 27.
Once launched, Hera is expected to fly past Mars next year and reach Dimorphos by December 2026, where it will spend six months investigating the asteroid. The spacecraft will carry 12 scientific instruments, including two nanosatellites—Juventas, which aims to land on Dimorphos and measure its gravity, and Milani, which will study the asteroid's composition and assess the effects of DART’s impact.
Understanding asteroids
Though asteroids are considered a rare natural disaster, they pose serious risks. Asteroids larger than a kilometre in width could trigger global catastrophes like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, but these events are extremely infrequent. An asteroid around 140 metres wide—similar to Dimorphos—could still cause significant destruction, potentially levelling a major city.
Most of these celestial objects come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Almost all those bigger than a kilometre wide are known to scientists, and none are expected to threaten Earth in the next century.
There are also no known 140-metre asteroids on a collision course with Earth but only 40 percent of those space rocks are believed to have been identified.
Patrick Michel, the principal investigator for the Hera mission, stressed that humanity now has the ability to protect itself from asteroid impacts.
Dimorphos, a moonlet orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, was never a threat to Earth. After DART’s collision, Dimorphos shed debris and its orbit shortened by 33 minutes, proving the impact successfully deflected it. However, scientists believe Dimorphos might not be a solid rock but rather a loose collection of rubble held together by gravity, which challenges their understanding of how these small celestial bodies behave.
By analysing the aftermath of the DART impact, Hera will provide valuable insights into the nature of asteroids and how best to protect Earth from potential future threats.
Inputs from AFP
DART’s successful deflection: Humanity’s first planetary defence test
The DART mission successfully altered the course of Dimorphos, a pyramid-sized asteroid located 11 million kilometres (6.8 million miles) from Earth. The impactor, about the size of a fridge, managed to knock the asteroid off its original path. This was a significant step in demonstrating that humanity can potentially defend itself from future asteroid threats.
Why Hera’s ‘crime scene investigation’ is necessary
However, many questions remain unanswered. Scientists are still unsure how much damage was done and what the asteroid was like before the impact. To address these unknowns, the European Space Agency said it was sending Hera to the asteroid to conduct a "crime scene investigation" in the hopes of learning how Earth can best fend off asteroids that pose a threat.
Hera is tentatively set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, a recent "anomaly" during the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronaut mission has raised the possibility of a delay. ESA’s Hera project manager, Ian Carnelli, has said that approval is needed from the US Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and SpaceX. The mission's launch window will remain open until October 27.
Once launched, Hera is expected to fly past Mars next year and reach Dimorphos by December 2026, where it will spend six months investigating the asteroid. The spacecraft will carry 12 scientific instruments, including two nanosatellites—Juventas, which aims to land on Dimorphos and measure its gravity, and Milani, which will study the asteroid's composition and assess the effects of DART’s impact.
Understanding asteroids
Though asteroids are considered a rare natural disaster, they pose serious risks. Asteroids larger than a kilometre in width could trigger global catastrophes like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, but these events are extremely infrequent. An asteroid around 140 metres wide—similar to Dimorphos—could still cause significant destruction, potentially levelling a major city.
Most of these celestial objects come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Almost all those bigger than a kilometre wide are known to scientists, and none are expected to threaten Earth in the next century.
There are also no known 140-metre asteroids on a collision course with Earth but only 40 percent of those space rocks are believed to have been identified.
Patrick Michel, the principal investigator for the Hera mission, stressed that humanity now has the ability to protect itself from asteroid impacts.
Dimorphos, a moonlet orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, was never a threat to Earth. After DART’s collision, Dimorphos shed debris and its orbit shortened by 33 minutes, proving the impact successfully deflected it. However, scientists believe Dimorphos might not be a solid rock but rather a loose collection of rubble held together by gravity, which challenges their understanding of how these small celestial bodies behave.
By analysing the aftermath of the DART impact, Hera will provide valuable insights into the nature of asteroids and how best to protect Earth from potential future threats.
Inputs from AFP
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