The planetary defense mission Hera takes off towards Mars.
The Hera mission of the European Space Agency is heading to Mars, where it will receive a gravitational boost before continuing its journey to its asteroid target.
Hera, the European Space Agency's (ESA) planetary defense mission, is scheduled to conduct a close flyby of Mars in March 2025. This event aims to gather additional momentum on its trajectory toward the binary asteroid system Didymos. During its approach, the spacecraft will pass by the orbits of Mars' moons, Deimos and Phobos, and will carry out scientific observations of Deimos and the planet's surface. These activities will be conducted in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates' Hope orbiter and will provide preparatory data for JAXA-DLR's MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission, scheduled to launch in 2026.
The Hera mission is a continuation of NASA's DART mission, which deliberately collided with an asteroid in 2022 to test whether the impact of a spacecraft could alter an asteroid's trajectory. This experiment was successful, and now scientists seek to gain more detailed information about the effects of DART's impact on the asteroid and its composition.
To reach its destination, Hera performed its first maneuver on October 23 and November 6, using its thrusters. This maneuver was divided into two parts: an initial major burn followed by a smaller correction burn after accurately measuring the spacecraft's trajectory. These maneuvers successfully adjusted Hera's path to direct it toward Mars, where a small adjustment is expected on November 21 to refine its approach.
Upon reaching Mars, Hera will utilize the planet's gravity to propel itself toward Dimorphos, Didymos’s smaller companion, which it is expected to reach by late 2026. During its pass by Mars, the spacecraft will conduct scientific operations, including the study of Deimos, as it will pass within approximately 185 miles of the moon.
Conditions have been favorable, as Pablo Muñoz from ESA's European Space Operations Centre indicated that Mars is in the right position to assist Hera, allowing for the design of an efficient trajectory that optimizes fuel usage and accelerates its arrival at the asteroids.
