1 day / second
0.5 AU
Hera
Spacecraft
A planned ESA spacecraft that will launch in 2024 to study the aftermath of NASA's DART impact on the asteroid Dimorphos, marking humanity's first detailed investigation of an intentionally altered asteroid.
Key Facts
organization | ESA |
orbital regime | Inner System |
learn more | Wikipedia |
launched | 2024-10-07 |
launch mass | 1,128 kg |
Mission Timeline
Launched
October 7, 2024 at 14:52 UTC
Mars
Gravity Assist
Hera performed a gravity assist maneuver at Mars in March 2025, using the planet's gravitational field to adjust its trajectory toward the binary asteroid system Didymos for its planned arrival in late 2026.
Deimos
Flyby
Hera conducted a flyby of Deimos on October 7, 2025, capturing detailed images and measurements of the small Martian moon during its journey to study the binary asteroid system Didymos.
65803 Didymos
Orbiter
Hera will be the first spacecraft to visit a binary asteroid system, arriving at Didymos in 2026 to study the aftermath of NASA's DART impact and deploy two CubeSats for detailed surface observations.
Related Spacecraft
Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART)
Launched in 2021
The DART spacecraft deliberately collided with the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, successfully altering its orbit and demonstrating humanity's first planetary defense test against potential asteroid impacts.
