Hera (space mission)
Artist's impression of Hera in orbit around the asteroid Didymos | |||||||||||||
| Mission type | Didymos orbiter | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | European Space Agency | ||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2024-180A | ||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 61449 | ||||||||||||
| Website | heramission | ||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 1 year, 5 months, 6 days (elapsed) 2 years, 9 months (planned) | ||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | OHB SE | ||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 1,128 kg (2,487 lb) | ||||||||||||
| Dry mass | 350 kg (770 lb) | ||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 1.6 × 1.6 × 1.7 m (5.2 × 5.2 × 5.6 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||
| Launch date | 7 October 2024, 14:52:11 UTC (10:52:11 am EDT) | ||||||||||||
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 B1061-23 | ||||||||||||
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC‑40 | ||||||||||||
| Contractor | SpaceX | ||||||||||||
| Flyby of Deimos | |||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 12 March 2025, 12:07 GMT | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 300 km (190 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Flyby of Mars | |||||||||||||
| Closest approach | 12 March 2025, 12:51 GMT | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 5,000 km (3,100 mi) | ||||||||||||
| 65803 Didymos orbiter | |||||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | November 2026 | ||||||||||||
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Mission insignia | |||||||||||||
Hera is the first planetary defence spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). Its primary mission objective is to study the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted in 2022 by NASA's DART spacecraft and contribute to validation of the kinetic impact method to deviate a near-Earth asteroid from a colliding trajectory with Earth. Hera has a mass of 1,128 kg (2,487 lb) and carries a payload of cameras, an altimeter, and a spectrometer. It is carrying two small CubeSat spacecraft, called Milani and Juventas. The spacecraft was launched on 7 October 2024 by Falcon 9. Hera is the first mission of ESA's Space Safety Programme.