Il 7 October 2024 at 16.52 (Italian time) the journey of HERA, the first European planetary defense mission, aboard the rocket Falcon 9 of SpaceXThe aim is to carry out experiments on technologies able defend the land from a possible asteroid impact.

HERA will reach Dimorphous, the asteroid's moon Didymus, hit in 2022 by the probe DART to divert its orbit. “Two years have passed since we received on Earth the sensational images from our satellite LiciaCube which documented - he has declared Theodore Valens, president ofItalian Space Agency - the impact of NASA's Dart probe on an asteroid. Images that have allowed us to study and verify a new strategy for planetary protection in the event of danger from asteroids and other objects. Today, ESA's Hera satellite begins its journey towards the same destination, to analyze even more closely what happened to Dimorphos, which was hit and diverted in its orbit around Didymos". 

La mission European HERA It will travel for about two years carrying with it several instruments and two probes CUBESAT. In CUBESAT Milan it is positioned on VISTA sensor based on QCM sensors and proximity electronics developed by CNR-IIA under the scientific and technical responsibility of Doctor Emiliano Zampetti and the team involved in the project.

During the two-year journey the probe will fly over Mars providing images of the moon Deimos (March 2025), then in 2026 it will align itself on the asteroid's orbit Didymus to approach in October 2026.

VISTA will produce important information about the impact by analyzing several samples of the particulate matter generated.

 

IMAGE CREDITS:

ESA's Hera mission for asteroid planetary defense seen aboard its Falcon 9 launcher upper stage (animation). CREDIT ESA – Science Office, LICENSE ESA Standard License