ESA’s Hera separates Dimorphos from Didymos in its first close-up image
ESA’s Hera spacecraft has captured Didymos and its smaller companion, Dimorphos, as separate objects for the first time, from about 1,280 kilometres away. The probe is closing in to inspect the site where NASA’s DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos in 2022; ESA says it will publish the first detailed images on 25 November.
Bottom line — Hera’s close-up investigation will measure what DART changed and help scientists assess asteroid deflection by impact.
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Space.com reports that Dimorphos appeared as roughly one pixel in the image taken on 18 October.
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ESA puts Dimorphos at 151 metres across and Didymos at about 780 metres.
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ScienceDaily reports that DART shortened Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos by about 33 minutes.
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ScienceDaily says the orbital change was greater than computer simulations had predicted; researchers still need to establish why.
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Hera will survey the impact site and study the asteroids’ composition and internal structure, according to ESA.
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Two CubeSats will gather additional observations closer to Dimorphos, with landing operations planned as part of the investigation, ScienceDaily reports.