Four years ago, NASA punched an asteroid. Europe's Hera probe arrives this month to inspect the wreckage
NASA's DART mission made a cosmic mess four years ago — and now a new spacecraft is ready to scout out exactly what the first-of-its-kind collision accomplished.
Four years after NASA's DART mission collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, Europe's Hera probe is set to arrive and investigate the impact. DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft, intentionally struck Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, demonstrating a potential method for planetary defense against asteroid threats. The impact shortened Dimorphos' orbit around its larger companion Didymos by approximately 33 minutes.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the collision, Hera, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in October 2024, will follow the DART spacecraft. Hera's mission involves mapping the two asteroids, studying the crater created by the impact, and even searching for any remnants of DART. With Hera's arrival scheduled for October 15, 2024, scientists anticipate a wealth of new data and insights into the asteroid's composition and structure.
Written by urgent.news from Space.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
