Hera mission launched to observe effectiveness of DART mission [Video]

• The European Space Agency’s Hera mission launched from Florida, US, on Monday.
• The mission will study the impact NASA’s DART mission had on an asteroid and its orbit around a larger asteroid.
• The Hera mission will arrive at its destination in 2026.

On Monday, the European Space Agency launched its Hera mission. This mission will get up close with the asteroid Dimorphos in an effort to study how effective NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was.

You’ll recall that the DART mission saw NASA flinging a 500kg+ spacecraft at an asteroid in a bid to change its trajectory. This was in service of studying whether a similar technique could be used to protect Earth in the event that an asteroid is destined for us.

To study DART’s effectiveness, Hera is headed for Didymos to see whether DART is viable. The ESA says Hera is about the size of a car. …