\tSpace Safety<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t10\/09\/2026
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The European Space Agency\u2019s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence has a cartoon dinosaur for its mascot \u2013 because dinos were made extinct after an asteroid impact, but while they didn’t have a space agency, people do! Now we\u2019re asking you to supply our dino with a name<\/a>, to win a place at November\u2019s Hera arrival celebration.<\/p>\n Ian Carnelli, Hera\u2019s mission manager, comments: \u201cHera\u2019s dino, riding inside its air balloon, features in all our animations<\/a>, in our LEGO models<\/a>\u00a0and, in sticker form, is emblazoned on all our team laptops!<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tHera approaches Dimorphos<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd what I can exclusively reveal is that our little dino is also present aboard the spacecraft itself \u2013 its appearance to be debuted around the time we reach our target asteroids.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the meantime our dino needs a name, and we\u2019re looking forward to hearing your suggestions! Whoever comes up with the chosen name, as selected by a Hera team jury, will be invited to our unveiling of the first images from Hera after reaching the Didymos and Dimorphos asteroids, on 25 November in Berlin.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tHera spacecraft during ground testing<\/a><\/p>\n Hera for planetary defence<\/p>\n Hera is ESA\u2019s first planetary defence mission. The small-car-sized spacecraft is headed to the Dimorphos asteroid, which orbits in turn around the larger Didymos asteroid. Dimorphos is already historic as the first object in the Solar System to have had its orbit changed by human action \u2013\u00a0when NASA\u2019s DART spacecraft impacted it in September 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n DART\u2019s impact caused a brightening and a change in Dimorphos orbital period around Didymos visible from distant Earth telescopes, but nobody knows what it did to Dimorphos itself. Hera is going there to perform a close-up crash site survey, to help turn DART\u2019s kinetic impact experiment into a well understood planetary defence technique that might be tailored against incoming objects if required.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tDidymos asteroid system, post-impact<\/a><\/p>\n Of dinosaurs and asteroids<\/p>\n Dinosaurs \u2013 currently back in cinemas in The End of Oak Street \u2013 have been a perennial cultural obsession. These prehistoric giants ruled over the entire planet for millions of years until, very suddenly, they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Dinosaurs and asteroids have been linked in public consciousness ever since the father and son Alvarez scientists deduced the otherwise mysterious extinction of the dinosaurs was connected to an enormous body impacting Earth.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhere the dinosaur-killing asteroid hit<\/a><\/p>\n This milestone discovery, today linked to the Chicxulub impact crater off the coast of Mexico, demonstrates how impact events have punctuated the history of life on Earth \u2013 and how they still pose a risk to us today.<\/p>\n As science fiction writer Larry Niven was the first to observe: \u201cThe dinosaurs became extinct because they didn\u2019t have a space programme.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tHera mission timeline<\/a><\/p>\n To improve on dinosaur-level survivability, ESA\u2019s Space Safety programme includes a significant Planetary Defence element, with Hera and other asteroid missions (including Ramses<\/a>\u00a0to rendezvous with the Apophis asteroid as it passes Earth in 2029 and Neomir<\/a>\u00a0to detect asteroids from orbit).<\/p>\n These missions are supplemented by ESA\u2019s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre<\/a>\u00a0in Frascati, Italy, which coordinates observations of small bodies venturing near to Earth to evaluate and monitor their impact threat.<\/p>\n So how did Hera gain its dino mascot? The Science Office<\/a> company in Portugal developed the mission’s animated series, including designing characters for the Hera spacecraft and its two CubeSat passengers<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tCartoon Hera with her dino mascot<\/a><\/p>\n Executive Director Mariana Barrosa recalls: \u2018We were storyboarding the initial cartoon episode and included a shot of some dinosaurs protesting in favour of planetary defence. From there came the idea: \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be funny if Hera had a pet dinosaur?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n The one thing Hera\u2019s dino \u2013 riding comfortably inside its balloon \u2013 does not have is a name. That\u2019s where you come in!<\/p>\n How to enter<\/p>\n To enter the dino naming contest, fill in your own name, email, name idea, a supporting explanation and an optional video via the form linked here:<\/p>\n https:\/\/blogs.esa.int\/forms\/name-heras-dinosaur-competition\/<\/a><\/p>\n or else email these details via\u00a0hera.challenge@esa.int<\/a><\/p>\n