Hera approaches Dimorphos
Hera approaches Dimorphos
ESA's planetary defence mission Hera is approaching the boulder-strewn asteroid Dimorphos. On 26 September 2022, NASA's approximately half-tonne DART space probe hit Dimorphos at a speed of 6.1 kilometres per second. This first experiment using the kinetic impact method to deflect asteroids was successful: Earth-based observations show that the 11-hour and 55-minute orbit of Dimorphos around the primary asteroid Didymos was shortened by around 33 minutes. Hera, which is expected to arrive in the Didymos binary asteroid system at the end of 2026, will collect data at close range and determine the mass and composition of Dimorphos, among other things. This large-scale experiment should enable the development of a reproducible planetary defence technique.
