\tSpace Safety<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t17\/03\/2026
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A successful deep-space manoeuvre has put ESA\u2019s Hera spacecraft<\/a> on course for its rendezvous with the Didymos binary asteroid system later this year.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tCheck out the new Hera mission poster!<\/a><\/p>\n The European Space Agency\u2019s (ESA) Hera spacecraft is on its way to the only asteroids in existence whose orbits have been deliberately altered by human action.<\/p>\n At the Didymos binary system, Hera will help scientists answer the questions remaining after NASA\u2019s DART spacecraft impacted Didymos\u2019 smaller moon Dimorphos. In doing so, Hera will help to transform asteroid deflection by kinetic impact into a well-understood and repeatable technique for protecting Earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hera recently completed the second of two deep-space manoeuvres on its journey from Earth to Didymos. The manoeuvre burned 123 kg of onboard hydrazine fuel and changed the spacecraft\u2019s velocity by 367 m\/s \u2013 a change comparable to an object accelerating from stationary to supersonic flight.<\/p>\n \t\t\tHera trajectory to Didymos \u201cWe divided the deep space manoeuvre into three engine burns, plus one much smaller correction manoeuvre, carried out over a period of around four weeks,\u201d says Francesco Castellini from the Flight Dynamics team at ESA\u2019s European Space Operations Centre<\/a> in Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the Hera mission\u2019s largest manoeuvre in terms of fuel consumption, and we used it to test all of the systems that we will need during the braking and rendezvous manoeuvres later this year as we arrive at Didymos.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tHera\u2019s deep space manoeuvre in February\/March 2026 aligned the inclination of the spacecraft\u2019s orbit around the Sun with that of the Didymos binary asteroid system.<\/a><\/p>\n Tracking data from ESA\u2019s Estrack network of deep space antennas<\/a> confirmed the success of the manoeuvre, and downlinked telemetry from the spacecraft shows that all subsystems performed as expected.<\/p>\n With the deep-space manoeuvre complete, the Hera team has its sights set on arrival at Didymos. Extensive onboard software updates have been designed to prepare the spacecraft for close-proximity operations at the asteroids.<\/p>\n The update adds and improves functionalities that Hera will need to carry out humankind\u2019s first thorough survey of a binary asteroid, such as new software for Hera\u2019s laser altimeter \u2013 which will continuously monitor its distance from the asteroids \u2013 and for the monitoring camera that will visually monitor and confirm the release of Hera\u2019s two CubeSats<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\tHera\u2019s CubeSat deployment process \u201cUploading new software to Hera across deep space is like having a video call with a friend on Mars at just 0.004% the speed of a typical home internet connection and with a twenty-minute time delay between speaking and hearing your friend\u2019s response,\u201d says Anna Schiavo from the Hera Flight Control Team.<\/p>\n \u201cSending the software to the spacecraft, which is just the first step in the overall software update, will take around three hours.\u201d<\/p>\n In October, Hera will begin a series of precisely timed burns to transition from interplanetary cruise to asteroid rendezvous.<\/p>\n
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