European Space Agency Prepares Hera Plane To Observe Dimorphos Damage

Illustration of the destruction of the Dimorphos asteroid (photo: dock. ESA)

JAKARTA The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing a spacecraft called Hera. The aircraft is planned to launch to the Dimorphos asteroid in October.

Before launching, Hera had to complete a series of tests at the European Center for Space Research and Technology ESA in the Netherlands. This test consists of checking for extreme noise and vibrations at launch as well as thermal vacuum tests.

These two series of tests must be carried out to ensure the strength and durability of the aircraft. If all tests are successful, Hera will be launched to investigate the impact of NASA's plane collision to Dimorphos using a detector.

The plane that accidentally crashed into Dimorphos was a Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). The plane weighing half a ton hit a large rock blocking Dimorphos in September 2022 at a speed of 6.1 kilometers per second.

DART deliberately crashed to deflect the orbit from Dimorphos. Although the mission has been successful, the researchers do not yet know the asteroid's reaction after being hit by DART. Therefore, the launch of the Hera aircraft is very much needed.

Equipped with CubeSat, a small satellite orbiter named Juventus and Milani, Hera will assess Dimorphos' composition, structure, and mass. The aircraft will also reveal the impact of high speed on Dimorphos.

One part that will be investigated is the Dimorphos crater left by DART. However, based on a study shared on Nature Astronomy, this crater no longer exists because DART has changed the shape of Dimorphos.

About one percent of the Dimorphos masses are expected to be thrown into space and about 8 percent of the masses move around the body. This is not certain so that the launch mission of Hera is very much needed to know its impact clearly.