Hera probe gets 1st good luck at asteroid system clobbered by NASA's DART mission | Space photo of the day for Nov. 6, 2026
The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft has gotten its first close-up look at the Didymos binary asteroid, the first space rock system "punched" by humanity.
The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft has captured its first close-up image of the Didymos binary asteroid system, which was targeted by NASA's DART mission in September 2022. Hera's Principal Investigator, Patrick Michel, expressed excitement about the new view, describing it as a "whole new world." Didymos, the main asteroid, measures 2,560 feet (780 meters) across, while its moonlet, Dimorphos, is about 530 feet (160 meters) wide.
The DART impact successfully altered Dimorphos' orbital period by around 33 minutes, demonstrating the potential to divert an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Hera's observations will help scientists assess the changes that have occurred on and around Didymos, including the creation of multiple boulders, craters, and patterns of grooves or ridges.
Written by urgent.news from Space.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- Max Power: NASA hosting its 1st air show this weekend on Florida's Space Coast space.com
- Hubble Space Telescope is falling to Earth – should NASA save it? newscientist.com
- Former NASA chief economist named new head of Canadian Space Agency cbc.ca
- RIP, Swift: NASA space telescope falls to Earth r.smartbrief.com
