Hunting for Asteroid Clues: Europe's Mission to Probe a Cosmic Crash

In a dramatic cosmic event, NASA’s spacecraft collided with a skyscraper-size asteroid two years ago to test Earth’s defense against an asteroid impact. Now, Europe is getting involved with their new mission, Hera, named after the Greek goddess of marriage. This venture aims to investigate the aftermath of the collision between the NASA spacecraft DART and the asteroid Dimorphos. The $400 million (363 million euro) Hera mission’s goal is to explore the damage caused by the deflection experiment, which worked successfully by nudging Dimorphos off its orbit around the larger asteroid Didymos. While DART captured some blurry images, Hera will conduct a thorough survey when it arrives in late 2026.

"This is like a detective returning to the scene of the crime," said Patrick Michel, the principal investigator on the Hera mission from Côte d’Azur Observatory in Nice, France. "We need to know what Dimorphos looks like now to validate the collision technique and our models." Before the mission could launch, however, there was a challenge—a hurricane. The Hera spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket just before a storm hit Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Weighing 2,442 pounds (1,108 kilograms), the spacecraft began its journey towards Dimorphos in an impressive launch. Space missions often involve risks and uncertainties, making it crucial for scientists to gather as much data as possible. This mission is a giant leap forward in understanding the impact of space defenses and how they might protect Earth in the future.

Actions