ESA’s Hera nears Didymos to measure the aftermath of NASA’s asteroid strike
ESA’s Hera spacecraft is due to reach the Didymos asteroid system in November or December 2026, carrying two CubeSats to investigate Dimorphos, which NASA’s DART spacecraft hit in 2022. ESA says the close-up survey will measure the impact’s effects and test whether asteroid deflection by collision can become a better-understood planetary-defence technique.
Bottom line — Hera’s six-month survey will help establish what the 2022 DART impact actually changed on Dimorphos.
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ESA’s mission page describes Hera as the first probe to rendezvous with a binary asteroid system.
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The Japanese Hera project says ground observations found Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos shortened by about 32 minutes after DART’s impact.
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According to the Japanese project, Hera is expected to study the system for about six months, including the impact crater, the asteroids’ physical properties and their materials.
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Springer’s 2026 paper says the Milani CubeSat will map both asteroids, examine their surfaces and dust, and help assess DART’s effects.
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ESA says that after its primary mission, Hera is planned to serve as a deep-space software testbed from mid-2027.