Europe’s Hera mission has sent new images of Earth, revealing spectacular views of our planet in different spectrums of light, but they also look pretty creepy.
The Hera spacecraft, launched to explore the binary system of asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos, photographed our planet on October 11 from a distance of 2 million kilometers using the HyperScout H hyperspectral instrument. This thermal imager works in 25 spectral bands from visible to near infrared (650-950 nm), making it possible to see more colors than the human eye can distinguish. The resulting images revealed details invisible in ordinary light.
The images not only reveal the beauty of the Earth, but also allow scientists to observe cloud structures. Scientists recall Carl Sagan’s famous statement that “All our lives are contained within these few pixels”.
The Hera mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), was launched on October 7 on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. Hera is expected to reach the binary asteroid system in 2026 to continue NASA’s DART mission. Earlier, the DART spacecraft hit the asteroid Dimorphos, changing its orbit around the larger asteroid Didymos. This was the first demonstration of planetary defenses that can deflect dangerous objects that threaten Earth.
Hera should study the consequences of the DART collision in detail. Until now, its results have been observed only through telescopes, but now Hera will be able to do it directly. HyperScout H, which has already tested its capabilities on Earth images, will be used to analyze the mineral composition of Dimorphos upon arrival.
A calibration test conducted on the instrument confirmed its functionality, said Julia de Leon, principal investigator from the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics.
Previously, we covered everything you need to know about the Hera mission.
Provided by Space
