The spacecraft blasted off on Monday to investigate the cosmic crash site. The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft navigated a two-year journey to a small, safe space in space NASA two years ago in training for the day a deadly space rock threatens Earth. The second part of the planet defense experiment could one day help save the planet.
SpaceX’s Falcon rocket quickly disappeared with Hera into the morning clouds. An hour later, applause erupted from the control center in Germany as the spacecraft separated from the rocket’s upper stage and called it home. “It’s an amazing day,” said the space agency’s general director Josef Aschbacher afterward.
The crash of 2022 NASA’s Dart spacecraft shortened Dimorphos’ trajectory next to its best friend, indicating that if a dangerous rock is coming our way, there is a chance it can be destroyed with enough advance notice.
Scientists are eager to examine the effect of the impact up close to know exactly how the Dart worked and what changes may be needed to protect Earth in the future.
“The more information we can get the better as it could be very important to plan future deflection missions if needed,” University of Maryland astronomer Derek Richardson said before the launch.
Researchers want to know if Dart – short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test – left a crater or perhaps reoriented the 500-meter (150-foot) asteroid in a dramatic way. It looked like a flying saucer before the Dart hit and now it might look like a kidney bean, said Richardson, who participated in the Dart mission and is helping with Hera.
The dart’s wallop sent debris and even boulders flying from Dimorphos, providing an extra kick to the momentum of the impact. The debris trail stretches thousands of kilometers (over 10,000 km) into space for months.
Some rocks and other debris are still hanging around the area, which could be a threat to Hera, said flight director Ignacio Tanco.
“We don’t know exactly where we will work,” said Tanco. “But its purpose is to go where you will find that.”
European officials describe the 400 million dollar (363 million euro) operation as an “accidental investigation.” Hera “goes back to the scene of the crime and gets all the science and technology,” said project manager Ian Carnelli.
Carrying a dozen science instruments, the car-sized Hera will need to swing past Mars in 2025 to develop its gravity, before arriving at Dimorphos in late 2026. The moon of Didymos, Greek for twin, is a rapidly rotating asteroid. that’s five times bigger. At that time, the asteroid will be 120 million kilometers (195 million miles) from Earth.
Hera will attempt to orbit the two rocks, with flyby distances gradually decreasing from 18 kilometers (30 miles) all the way down to half a mile (1 kilometer). The spacecraft will observe the moon online for at least six months to determine its size, shape and composition, as well as its orbit around Didymos.
Before impact, Dimorphos circled its best friend from three-quarters of a mile (1,189 meters) out. Scientists believe that the orbit is now rigid and oval, and that the moon may be rolling.
Two shoebox-sized Cubesats will launch from Hera for even closer drone-like observations, one of which uses radar to peer beneath the moon’s rocky surface. Scientists suspect that Dimorphos was built from a shed of material from Didymos. Radar observations should help confirm that Didymos is indeed the parent of the young moon.
Cubesat will attempt to land on the moon once their research is complete. If the moonlet falls, that will make the effort difficult. Hera can also finish her goal with a dangerous touch, but for the great Didymos. No asteroid poses a threat to Earth – before or after Dart’s appearance. That’s why NASA chose this couple for the first human spacewalk demo.
Leftovers from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago, asteroids primarily orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter in what is known as the main asteroid belt, where millions of them reside. They become the closest thing to the world when they are taken off the belt and into our neck of the woods.
NASA’s number of near-Earth objects currently tops 36,000, almost all asteroids but also some comets. More than 2,400 of them are considered globally endangered.