The European Space Agency has published several images taken by the Hera spacecraft during its flyby of Mars. The images show its moon Deimos.
Hera made a flyby of Mars on March 12. The vehicle took advantage of the Red Planet’s gravity to accelerate and adjust its trajectory. The scientists also used the meeting to test and calibrate Hera’s scientific instruments and make some observations. Their main target was Deimos.
Deimos is the smaller of the two Martian moons (its diameter is 12.4 kilometers), whose orbit passes at a distance of 20,000 from the planet’s surface. The origin of the small moon remains a mystery. One theory is that it gathered in orbit from matter dislodged from the surface of Mars during a major collision. According to another, Deimos is an asteroid captured by the planet’s gravity.
Hera’s flight path was designed so that it flew only 300 kilometers away from Deimos. As a result, the spacecraft was able to photograph the “dark side” of Deimos — a hemisphere that is never visible from the surface of Mars and which is studied noticeably worse than the one with which the moon is constantly turned to the planet.
Hera also obtained spectra of the surface of Deimos and measured its temperature. Together with it, another European vehicle Mars Express, which has been studying the Red Planet for more than 20 years, took part in the observations of the moon.
According to scientists, the data collected by Hera will help in the preparation of the Japanese mission MMX, which is scheduled for launch in 2026. It will have to study the moons of Mars and deliver a sample of its matter to Earth.
As for Hera, the spacecraft has continued its journey to its target, the twin asteroid Dimorphos. It will reach it in December 2026.
According to ESA
