The European Space Agency (ESA) continues to explore planetary defense capabilities with the Hera mission launched this October. The spacecraft recently completed its first major maneuver, adjusting its course for a gravitational approach to Mars in 2025.
The Hera mission is a continuation of a NASA experiment called DART, which involved a deliberate collision between a spacecraft and the asteroid in 2022 to investigate whether its trajectory could be altered by a kinetic impact. The experiment was successful, demonstrating that such a collision can indeed deflect an asteroid off its course. This technology could come in handy in the event of a potential threat to Earth from dangerous asteroids.
However, scientists are striving to learn more about the impact of the DART mission. The collision is known to have changed both the shape and trajectory of the asteroid, but researchers need to figure out the details of the asteroid’s composition and the exact effects of the collision. That’s why Hera traveled to the asteroid Dimorphos, which DART was targeting, to make detailed observations of the impact’s aftermath.
To achieve this goal, Hera performed two corrective maneuvers on October 23 and November 6 that headed it toward Mars. According to Sylvain Lodio, the spacecraft’s operations manager, the first pulse was the primary pulse and corrected the course, while the second provided precise trajectory adjustments. The next maneuver is scheduled for November 21 for final approach adjustments to Mars.
After approaching Mars, Hera uses the planet’s gravity to accelerate toward its final destination, asteroid Dimorphos, a smaller partner of asteroid Didymos, which the spacecraft will reach in late 2026. During the flyby near Mars, the spacecraft will also study its moon Deimos at a distance of about 300 kilometers.
ESA scientists believe that gravity support for Mars is a big success, which has reduced fuel consumption and accelerated the mission by several months.
Earlier we reported on how the Hera spacecraft sent eerie images of the Earth from a distance of 2 million kilometers.
Provided by esa.int
