Hera
From Spacefaring
Hera is the first planetary defence spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). Its primary mission objective is to study the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted in 2022 by NASA's DART spacecraft and contribute to validation of the kinetic impact method to deviate a near-Earth asteroid from a colliding trajectory with Earth. Hera has a mass of 1,128 kg (2,487 lb) and carries a payload of cameras, an altimeter, and a spectrometer. It is carrying two small CubeSat spacecraft, called Milani and Juventas. The spacecraft was launched on 7 October 2024 by Falcon 9. Hera is the first mission of ESA's Space Safety Programme.
2024-10-07T00:00:00Z
2024-10-07T00:00:00Z
2024 Hera
2024-10-07T00:00:00Z
2024-10-07T00:00:00Z
rocket launch
2026-12-01T00:00:00Z
2026-12-01T00:00:00Z
rendezvous
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Hera spacecraft designHera spacecraft design
Hera in orbit
GRALS binary asteroid testing ESA397377
Hera glides past Didymos
Download full size image: www.flickr.com/photos/192271236@N03/54386120493/sizes/o/. Credit: ESA/AFC/DLR/FUBerlin/AndreaLuck CC BY. Colourised image processed from: www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_asteroid_mission_spies....- A spaceship punched an asteroid — we’re about to learn what came next@ scientific article published on 4 October 2024
- A spaceship punched an asteroid — we’re about to learn what came next@ scientific article published on 4 October 2024
| Type | Subtype | Date | Description | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| commons | image | Hera spacecraft design | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Hera spacecraft design | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Hera in orbit | Commons | ||
| commons | image | GRALS binary asteroid testing ESA397377 | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Hera glides past Didymos | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Download full size image: www.flickr.com/photos/192271236@N03/54386120493/sizes/o/. Credit: ESA/AFC/DLR/FUBerlin/AndreaLuck CC BY. Colourised image processed from: www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_asteroid_mission_spies.... | Commons | ||
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