European Space Agency (ESA) About to launch him The first “planetary defense” mission, A companion mission to NASA’s Dual Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which launched in 2022. The goal of these missions is to understand How can the Earth be protected from the impact of asteroids? Potentially devastating.
How the task will be structured. Monday, October 7, Hera spacecraftalong with Because of CubeSatwill depart into space propelled by SpaceX Falcon 9. CubeSats are Small satellites about 10 centimeters long They weigh no more than 10 kilograms, which are usually measured in units designated with “U”: for example, the units in Hera are 6U and are called respectively Juventus and Milani (The second is in honor of Andrea Milani, the famous Pisan astronomer and mathematician). Hera is also considered relatively small compared to many other space probes, taking into account that its length is about 1.6 meters, and its weight is about 1,128 kilograms.
What will Hera study? The launch will begin A journey of about two years verso Didymos binary asteroid system And his moon, Dimorphos. When it is close to them, the Hera mission will evaluate it, in addition to studying the properties of the two objects Effects of the DART effect Which collided with Demorphos in 2022, shortening its orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes, which was originally equivalent to 11 hours and 55 minutes.
A trilogy of spacecraft from the Hera mission They will reach their goal in 2026 To start Six month assignmentduring which it will be implemented Notes of the crater left by DART e We will collect other data. On board will actually be cameras and a spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of the observed substances and a planetary altimeter “lidar” that uses a laser capable of emitting a 1.5-micron beam of infrared radiation, which the return flight will allow to determine. Height is precisely 50 cm.
Objectives. According to the European Space Agency One of Hera’s goals “Dedicated to Bimodal geophysical characterization“, meaning the largest asteroids. While the second goal of the mission relates to “visual inspection and monitoring.” Detection of dust from the asteroid Didymos After the DART effect.
Instead, CubeSat Juventas was given the task Study of the subsurface of asteroidsThis is done by analyzing the gravity of objects. While Melanie will have to Spectral data collection From the surface of the two asteroids, that is, the chemical composition of their surfaces, and identifying the presence of dust in the space surrounding them.
Launch. While there are no problems at all regarding the probe on the part of the European Space Agency, a small flaw comes from SpaceX, the company to which Falcon 9 belongs, in fact, during the last launch, which carried two astronauts into space after they docked in International Space Station, the second stage was not ignited again during a re-entry maneuver to Earth’s atmosphere forcing SpaceX to Stopping all scheduled flights on these daysUntil the problem is solved.
Hera However, he wouldn’t be able to wait much longer, from then on The release window is no more than 5 or 6 days. Once Hera leaves, she will spend time around Mars studying Mars’ moon Deimos. From the planet, it will then receive a gravitational push in March 2025 towards the two asteroids, where it will reach them. On December 28, 2026. After a few months of study, Melanie and Juventus would land on Demorphos; Alternatively, Hera could be landed on Didymus.
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