Hera - Mission details
AIDA. Credit: NASA
Mission overview
Hera is a mission lead by ESA which is under the umbrella of the larger NASA led AIDA mission
The Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) is a pair of space probes which will study the deflection of asteroids
The moons
Image of Didymos and Dimorphos. Credit: DART NASA
To understand this program you need to know of the two moons. Dimorphos is a minor-planet moon of the asteroid Didymos. The bigger asteroid is Didymos and the smaller asteroid Dimorphos which is orbiting Didymos
AIDA is focused on Dimorphos
DART
DART crashing into Dimorphos. Credit: DART
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was the first probe in the AIDA program. Launched on the 24th of November 2021, DART successfully collided with Dimorphos on the 26th of September 2022 at 23:14 UTC. The collision shortened Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes. This demonstrated our ability to successfully deflect asteroids
Hera
Hera. Credit: ESA
Hera is the second probe in the AIDA program. Launching on the 7th of October, 14:52 UTC, it will analyse the aftermath of Dimorphos DART impact in detail.
The main satellite, Hera, has 2 CubeSats, Milani and Juventas.
Milani
The first CubeSat Milani will perform detailed spectral measurements of both asteroid surfaces. It will measure:
Measure the sunlight the asteroids reflect and break down the various colours to discover how these asteroids interact with the space environment.
Sample the dust of surrounding bodies.
Detect volatiles such as water.
Characterise light organics.
Monitor any molecular contamination of the CubeSat.
Juventas
The second CubeSat Juventas will perform the first radar sounding of an asteroid's interior. It will peer 100m deep into the 160m diameter Dimorphos body.
Juventas in close orbit around Dimorphos will line up with Hera to perform satellite-to-satellite radio science experiments.
The mission will end with a landing. There is likely to be bouncing, so it will capture details of the asteroid’s surface material. Followed by several days of surface operations
