Research3 sources

Hera spies a half-hidden asteroid moonlet

ESA · 3h ago

The Brief · written from 3 sources

ESA's Hera spacecraft has begun close inspections of the Didymos binary asteroid system.
Hera is inspecting the asteroid that NASA rammed in a 2022 planetary defense test.
ESA's early preview image was taken from 56 km away and shows the main 780-m-diameter Didymos asteroid, with part of its 151-m moonlet Dimorphos visible.

Why it matters

Hera's close-up data on Didymos and Dimorphos will show the physical effects of the 2022 impact, which informs whether kinetic impactors can deflect hazardous asteroids.

Who’s affected

planetary defense researchers
asteroid scientists
space engineers

#asteroids
#planetary defense
#hera mission
#didymos
#dart
#space missions

Another early preview of the Didymos binary asteroid system from ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence. Acquired from 56 km away, this image shows one face of the main 780-m-diameter Didymos asteroid. A small part of its 151-m-diameter Dimorphos moonlet is also visible…

Read the full story at esa.int ↗