Didymos and Dimorphos
Hera
A close investigation of the first asteroid system whose orbit was shifted by a spacecraft.
Cruising toward the Didymos system
View in 3D map ↗Official mission site ↗The mission
Hera is traveling to the Didymos binary asteroid system to measure the results of NASA’s DART impact and study Dimorphos in detail.
The launch
- Launch
- October 7, 2024
- Launch location
- Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
- Launch vehicle
- Falcon 9
- Orbit
- Heliocentric transfer orbit to the Didymos system
Launch intelligence
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Hera mission on Monday, October 7, 2024 at 2:52 PM (UTC).
- Launch provider
- SpaceX
- Vehicle
- Falcon 9
- COSPAR launch ID
- 2024-180
- Flight profile
- Orbital
- Launch result
- Success
- Window opens
- Not published
- Target T-0
- Oct 7, 2024, 14:52 UTC
- Window closes
- Not published
- Provider display
- Oct 07 2024
- Pad and location
- SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS
Launch media
Mission timeline
Follow the mission through its available trajectory data in the full 3D solar-system map.
- Now
Current mission status
Now
Cruising toward the Didymos system
Objectives
- 01
Measure the size and shape of the DART impact crater on Dimorphos.
- 02
Determine the mass and internal properties of Dimorphos.
- 03
Demonstrate autonomous navigation around a binary asteroid system.
Spacecraft
Hera
The main spacecraft carries two CubeSats for complementary close-range measurements.
- Manufacturer
- OHB System AG with European partners
- Power
- Solar arrays
- Asteroid Framing Camera
- PALT laser altimeter
- Thermal Infrared Imager
Gallery
0 images from Hera.
No mission imagery is available yet.
Community discussion
Comments 0
No comments yet. The airlock is open.
Sign in or create an account to comment and vote.