The European Space Agency's Hera mission is on its way toward Mars, where it will get a gravity assist before going on to its asteroid target.
The European Space Agency ’s planetary defense mission, Hera , has completed the first major maneuver of its journey following its launch in October. The spacecraft has burned its thrusters to put it on a course toward Mars, which it should reach to perform a gravity assist flyby in 2025.
Recommended Videos However, scientists want to know much more detail about what the exact effects of the DART impact on the asteroid were. They know that it reshaped the asteroid as well as changed its trajectory, but they want more information about what the asteroid is composed of and the exact effects of the impact. That’s where Hera comes in — it is traveling to that same asteroid, called Dimorphos, to observe it up close.
The burns succeeded in changing the spacecraft’s trajectory and pointing it toward Mars, and it will now require just a small correction maneuver on November 21 to fine-tune its approach.
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