European Space Agency (ESA) His is about to begin The first “planetary defense” mission, A companion mission to NASA's Twin Asteroid Deflection Test (DART) launched in 2022. The purpose of these tasks is to understand How can Earth be protected from an asteroid impact? Possible destruction.
How the task will be created. On Monday, October 7, Hera spacecraftTogether Two cubesatsSpaceX will go where Falcon 9 pushes it. are CubeChats Small satellites about 10 centimeters long and weighing no more than 10 kilograms, they are usually measured in units defined as “U”: for example, the size of a diamond is called 6U and respectively. Juventus and Milan (In memory of the second famous Pisan astronomer and mathematician Andrea Milani). Hera is small compared to many other space probes, measuring about 1.6 meters in length and weighing 1,128 kilograms.
What will Hera study? The launch will begin A journey of about two years towards Didymos binary asteroid system and its moon, Demorphoses. While it is in their vicinity, the Hera mission will study and evaluate the properties of the two objects. Consequences of impact of DART It collided with Dimorphos in 2022, shortening its orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes, from the original 11 hours and 55 minutes.
Three spacecraft from the Hera mission will reach their target by 2026 to kick A six month assignmentDuring which he will undertake Observations of the crater left by DART And Collect other data. The ship will actually have cameras, a spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of observed objects, and a “lidar” planetary altimeter that uses a laser capable of emitting 1.5 micron infrared light, allowing it to define its return journey. Height with an accuracy of 50 cm.
Objectives. According to the ESA One of Hera's purposes Dedicated to Two types of geophysical character“, meaning the largest asteroid. The second objective of the mission is “visual inspection and Detection of dust from asteroid Didymos Following the impact of DART”
CubeSat was commissioned by Juventus A study of the surface of asteroidsBy gravity analysis of objects. When Milani has to Collect spectral data From the surface of the two asteroids, i.e. its surface chemical composition, and identify the presence of dust in the surrounding space.
launch. Although there is no problem with the probe on the part of ESA, the Falcon 9 from the company SpaceX, in fact, carried two astronauts into space during the last launch, the second stage did not re-ignite during the re-entry maneuver into the Earth's atmosphere, which forced SpaceX to Cancel all scheduled flights on these daysUntil the problem is solved.
Hera However, he couldn't wait any longer Its release window is not more than 5 or 6 days. Once Hera departs, she spends time orbiting Mars studying the Martian moon Deimos. From the planet it will gain gravitational pull towards two asteroids in March 2025. On December 28, 2026. After a few months of study, Milani and Juventus will land on Dimorphos; Hera may descend on Didymos instead.
