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ScienceQuiet 6d · day 12

Hera spacecraft resolves Didymos binary asteroids for first time

ESA's planetary defense probe images its targets separately, revealing details of the system impacted by NASA's DART mission.

newest coverage 6d agosummary written 11d ago6 pieces NewswiresGoogle NewsMastodon

What to know

  • Hera resolved Didymos and Dimorphos as separate objects from 1,280 km away, confirming the binary system structure for the first time in the mission.
  • Dimorphos, the smaller asteroid (151 m across), was struck by NASA's DART spacecraft in September 2022, shifting its orbit by ~33 minutes—a larger deflection than predicted.
  • Hera will conduct detailed surface investigation over coming months, including deployment of CubeSats and eventual landing, to understand how kinetic impact reshapes asteroids.
  • Detailed images are expected November 25 as Hera closes in, answering key unknowns about crater formation and asteroid composition critical to developing planetary defense.

European Space Agency (ESA) Mission operatorMichael Kueppers Hera team memberIan Carnelli Hera mission manager

Hera spacecraft resolves Didymos binary asteroids for first time
esa.int

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in 3h at Oct 27, 1 PM; 6 pieces over 12 days (4 articles · 2 posts) Oct 27, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 27, 1 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 1, Newswires 1Oct 27, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 27, 7 PM — quietOct 27, 10 PM — quietOct 28, 1 AM — quietOct 28, 4 AM — quietOct 28, 7 AM — quietOct 28, 10 AM — quietOct 28, 1 PM — quietOct 28, 4 PM — quietOct 28, 7 PM — quietOct 28, 10 PM — quietOct 29, 1 AM — quietOct 29, 4 AM — quietOct 29, 7 AM — quietOct 29, 10 AM — quietOct 29, 1 PM — quietOct 29, 4 PM — quietOct 29, 7 PM — quietOct 29, 10 PM — quietOct 30, 1 AM — quietOct 30, 4 AM — quietOct 30, 7 AM — quietOct 30, 10 AM — quietOct 30, 1 PM — quietOct 30, 4 PM — quietOct 30, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 30, 10 PM — quietOct 31, 1 AM — quietOct 31, 4 AM — quietOct 31, 7 AM — quietOct 31, 10 AM — quietOct 31, 1 PM — quietOct 31, 4 PM — quietOct 31, 7 PM — quietOct 31, 10 PM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 3 AM — quietNov 1, 6 AM — quietNov 1, 9 AM — quietNov 1, 12 PM — quietNov 1, 3 PM — quietNov 1, 6 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 2, 3 AM — quietNov 2, 6 AM — quietNov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 12 PM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — quietNov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 12 AM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — quietNov 3, 12 PM — quietNov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 12 AM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 12 PM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 12 AM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 12 PM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 12 AM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 12 PM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quiet 1
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  1. 1

    First light image publicly disclosed

    ESA and affiliated outlets released the first resolved image showing the binary Didymos system, marking the successful completion of Hera's early imaging phase.

    “Before this acquisition the spacecraft was still resolving the Didymos system as a single dot. But now, even though Dimorphos is made up of only around one pixel in this initial image, it is clearly well separated from its parent body.”
    — Michael Kueppers, Hera team member · source

    • # ESA : " .. Hera spacecraft .. has resolved its two target asteroids separately for the very first time, revealing the binary nature of the Didymos system, currently some 197 million km away from Earth. " "Hera imaged Didymos and Dimorphos with its monochromatic Asteroid Framing Camera on the evening of Friday 18 October, at a distance of 1280 km…

      raumfahrttutnot@chaos.socialMastodon6d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
    • cosmos4u@scicomm.xyz

      The European Space Agency’s 'Hera spacecraft for planetary defence has resolved its two target 'asteroids separately for the very first time, revealing the binary nature of the 'Didymos system: https://www. esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Firs t_light_Hera_resolves_two_asteroids_instead_of_one

      cosmos4u@scicomm.xyzMastodon11d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Hera images Didymos and Dimorphos separately — From a distance of 1,280 km, Hera's monochromatic Asteroid Framing Camera captured the first resolved image showing both asteroids as distinct objects, with Dimorphos appearing as roughly one pixel but clearly separated from its parent body.

  3. background

    NASA's DART spacecraft impacts Dimorphos — DART collided with the smaller asteroid at 6.1 km/s, sending out a debris plume across 10,000 km and slowing the asteroid's orbit by approximately 33 minutes—a deflection greater than impact simulations had predicted.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets First light: Hera resolves two asteroids instead of one

    first by Phys.org, 11d ago · also European Space Agency

and 1 smaller piece

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