NASA smashed into an asteroid. Now Hera is closing in to see what happened
Europe’s Hera spacecraft has captured its first clear view of two asteroids involved in NASA’s historic 2022 experiment to redirect a potentially dangerous space rock.
Europe’s Hera spacecraft has captured its first clear view of two asteroids involved in NASA’s historic 2022 experiment to redirect a potentially dangerous space rock.
The short version
- Now approaching the pair, Hera will investigate the mysterious aftermath of the collision and uncover why the asteroid shifted far more than scientists predicted.
- The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft has reached an important milestone in its mission to investigate a historic asteroid collision.
- For the first time, its onboard camera has captured the two asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos as separate objects rather than a single point of light.
What happened
The asteroid pair is currently about 197 million kilometers from Earth. Hera obtained the new image on the evening of October 18 using its black-and-white Asteroid Framing Camera, while the spacecraft was approximately 1,280 kilometers from its targets.
Why it matters
"With this image, the smaller Dimorphos asteroid becomes visible for the first time," explains Michael Kueppers.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at ScienceDaily — Top Science via the links above and below.