ESA's Hera spacecraft snaps first clear image of Didymos and Dimorphos
On 18 Oct, ESA's Hera spacecraft obtained its first unambiguous picture of the binary asteroid system, showing Didymos and its 151‑metre moon Dimorphos as separate bodies. The image was taken with Hera's black‑and‑white Asteroid Framing Camera from about 1,280 km away. The mission follows NASA's DART impact on 26 Sep 2022, which altered Dimorphos' orbit and produced a brightening visible from Earth. Hera, launched in Oct 2024, is now preparing to survey the impact site and study the deflection outcome as it approaches the system in November.
Key facts
- Hera performed two braking burns in early October, lowering its relative speed to the asteroids by 20 m/s.
- The spacecraft carries 12 scientific payloads and two cubesats for close observation and a potential landing on Dimorphos.
- Dimorphos orbits the 780‑metre primary Didymos, forming a binary system targeted for planetary‑defence studies.
- Hera will conduct a close‑up survey of the DART impact crater to refine kinetic‑impact deflection techniques.
- The mission aims to address ten outstanding questions about asteroid composition and behaviour.
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Why it matters
The view confirms Hera’s proximity and enables detailed study of the kinetic‑impact experiment.
What changed
First published from ESA, ScienceDaily and Space.com