Hera spots its target – a first glimpse of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system investigation
November 12, 2026 | ESA's Hera mission – German-built spacecraft takes a closer look at near-Earth asteroids
Hera spots its target – a first glimpse of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system investigation
Hera's first close-up of the asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos
In this image, taken by the monochromatic Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC) on board the Hera spacecraft from a distance of 60 kilometres, most of the 151-metre asteroid Dimorphos is hidden in shadow. The 780-metre asteroid Didymos, around which the smaller moonlet orbits, is clearly visible.
Image: 1/7, Credit:
ESA
Another first look at the Didymos binary asteroid system
Image 2 from the Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC) system on board ESA's Hera spacecraft was taken from a distance of 56 kilometres. It shows one side of the main asteroid, Didymos, which is 780 metres in diameter. The tip of the 151-metre companion moon Dimorphos can also be seen, peeking out near the north pole of Didymos. The image is oriented so that the north pole of Didymos points upwards. It reveals the geological diversity of the surface of the larger asteroid, which includes large boulders, smoother areas and a surprisingly sharp equatorial ridge.
Image: 2/7, Credit:
ESA
The last photo transmitted by DART
The last fully transmitted photo from the DRACO camera aboard DART before the impact on Dimorphos shows the asteroid surface covered in rock debris. The photo was taken two seconds before the impact from a distance of 12 kilometres. The image is 31 by 31 metres. Dimorphos' north is at the top of the image.
ESA's Hera spacecraft has transmitted its first images of the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system back to Earth.
The images show numerous boulders, craters and striking surface features on Didymos, and reveal a surprisingly sharp-edged equatorial ridge.
The images were taken using the AFC (Asteroid Framing Camera) system, for which DLR is the scientific lead.
The mission is investigating the consequences of the targeted impact by NASA's DART probe in 2022.
The German Space Agency at DLR coordinates Germany's contributions to the Hera mission with federal government funding.
Focus: Space, planetary defence, asteroid research
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera spacecraft has returned its first images of the binary asteroid system Didymos and Dimorphos. After more than two years in transit, Hera is already giving a taster of the mission's scientific phase. The images were taken with the Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC), for which the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is the scientific lead. Among other things, Hera is to investigate how the deliberate impact by NASA's DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) probe in September 2022 affected the smaller asteroid, Dimorphos, and the surface properties of its neighbour, Didymos. Researchers hope this information will yield important insights for planetary defence from asteroids. Germany plays a major part in the Hera mission, with the German Space Agency at DLR coordinating the German contributions using federal funds.
The first image was taken by Hera from a distance of approximately 60 kilometres. While Dimorphos, which is about 151 metres in diameter, lies largely in shadow, its larger parent asteroid, Didymos (about 780 metres in diameter), is clearly visible. The image reveals a previously unseen side of Didymos, which the camera on NASA’s DART probe was unable to observe shortly before its impact on Dimorphos.
The second image was captured by the on-board AFC camera system from a distance of 56 kilometres. This image reveals the geological diversity of the larger asteroid’s surface, which includes large boulders, smoother areas and a surprisingly sharp equatorial ridge.
Boulders, craters and striking structures
These first images show a different side of Didymos and Dimorphos from that observed by DART in 2022. Numerous striking surface features can be seen, including large boulders, craters and structures that look like grooves or ridges. The already known ridge along the equator also stands out clearly.
The researchers now want to investigate how these structures formed and whether they could be linked to the DART impact on Dimorphos. When it hit, material was ejected from the surface of the smaller asteroid and some of it may have reached the surface of Didymos, which is only about one kilometre away.
The visible ridge may be caused by the fact that Didymos rotates once every 2.2 hours about its own axis – fast enough to be close to breaking apart. Mathematical models of fast-rotating asteroids suggest that this rotation could cause surface material to flow from higher latitudes towards the equator. It may even be possible that material is flung off the larger asteroid, which may explain the existence of its smaller 'moonlet', Dimorphos. The largely hidden Dimorphos orbits Didymos at a distance of barely more than a kilometre, with some boulders visible on its upper side.
On the trail of the consequences of the DART impact
In September 2022, NASA's DART spacecraft, weighing approximately 500 kilograms, deliberately struck the asteroid Dimorphos at a speed of about 6.1 kilometres per second. The experiment was a success: Dimorphos's orbital period around Didymos was shortened by around 33 minutes – a much greater change than expected. This marked the first time that the motion of a celestial body had been measurably altered by a deliberate, 'human-made' impulse.
Hera will now examine the physical consequences of the DART impact in more detail over at least six months. Objectives include detailing the shape, surface properties and internal structures of both asteroids, and possible changes caused by the impact. The results are intended to help scientists better understand the effect of a 'kinetic impactor'. The deliberate deflection of an asteroid could thus become a predictable method to prevent a catastrophic impact with Earth.
The two AFC cameras are of particular importance for the scientific investigations. Hera will use them to systematically capture and map the surfaces of Didymos and Dimorphos. The images will provide the basis for three-dimensional models of the asteroids and make it possible to analyse striking surface structures and changes.
Detailed images of Didymos and Dimorphos will be released on 25 November 2026. Over the coming months, Hera will carry out a 'crash site investigation' of Dimorphos from close range, using several instruments. Two shoebox-sized CubeSats will also be deployed for an even closer examination, eventually even attempting a landing.
About the Hera mission – a joint European project with German technology
Hera mission patch
Credit:
ESA
Hera is the European component of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) project, a joint undertaking of ESA and NASA. In the first part of AIDA, NASA's DART mission carried out an impact on the asteroid Dimorphos on 26 September 2022, with the objective of changing its orbit around the larger asteroid, Didymos. In early November 2026, Hera reached the asteroid pair to collect detailed data on Dimorphos and the effects of the DART impact. The aim is to develop targeted kinetic impacts into a well-understood and potentially repeatable technique for future planetary defence. Alongside planetary defence, Hera will also deliver new scientific insights into the shape, surface properties and characteristics of the asteroids, and demonstrate new technologies in space.
Germany is the largest contributor to the Hera mission, providing 37.5 percent of the funding. OHB in Bremen developed and built the spacecraft. A newly developed antenna made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic comes from the company HPS. The two AFC) cameras were supplied by Jena-Optronik. The Planetary ALTimeter (PALT) is based on a diode laser rangefinder from Jenoptik. Dresden University of Technology (TUD) played a major role in developing the radar experiment on the Juventas CubeSat. The German Space Agency at DLR coordinates the German contributions to the mission using federal funds.
DLR's Space Operations and Astronaut Training facility provides one of the six international members of the mission’s Science Management Board. The DLR Institute of Space Research has scientific responsibility for the AFC camera system and the PALT laser altimeter for altitude measurement on board Hera. The institute also co-leads the data analysis working group for the AFC system and is directly responsible for the scientific analysis in the areas of shape and morphology. The camera system is designed with redundancy: there are two identical cameras on board Hera. ESA operates the system in close coordination with DLR.
