The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft has returned its first close-range images of the Didymos asteroid system. The mission is inspecting the aftermath of the first human-directed orbital shift of a celestial body.
Hera reached the binary system on November 5, 2026, after a two-year transit from Earth. The spacecraft launched in October 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It is now surveying the 780-meter-wide Didymos and its 151-meter-wide moonlet, Dimorphos. The team wants to assess how the impact of NASA’s DART mission in September 2022 altered the pair. The system is 196.8 million kilometers from Earth. Communication requires an 11-minute delay.
Journey to Didymos
The spacecraft’s two-year journey included a gravity assist flyby of Mars on March 12, 2025. During that maneuver, Hera passed within 5,000 kilometers of the Red Planet. It also conducted a 300-kilometer flyby of the Martian moon Deimos. This trajectory correction directed the probe toward the Didymos system.
Our Hera spacecraft can now see Didymos and Dimorphos as two separate asteroids! Coming closer, it will study the effects of NASA's 2022 DART impact and help advance asteroid deflection as a planetary defence technique. The first detailed images of Dimorphos are expected on 25… pic.twitter.com/lHA0jU04jT
It provided an opportunity to test Hera’s instruments. Before arriving, the mission team performed braking maneuvers. They slowed the craft to 20 meters per second relative to the asteroids. The weak gravity of the space rocks prevents the use of traditional capture methods.
First Close-Range Images
Unlike the side photographed by DART moments before its 2022 impact, this view shows a rugged surface. It has craters, boulders, and a distinct equatorial ridge. Michael Kueppers, Hera project scientist at the European Space Agency, described the milestone. He said Dimorphos is largely concealed in shadow, but the parent body is clearly visible.
On October 18, the spacecraft captured the pair from 1,280 kilometers away. At that time, Hera could distinguish the two bodies for the first time. Previous observations had resolved the system only as a single dot. “Seeing this image is a hugely exciting moment for the whole Hera family,” Ian Carnelli, ESA's mission manager, said, calling the recent image release a vindication of years of intense preparation.
Defending the Planet
The mission aims to make kinetic impact deflection a repeatable technique. On September 26, 2022, the 580-kilogram DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos at 6.1 kilometers per second. The impact sent a plume of debris 10,000 kilometers across space. It shortened the moonlet’s orbit by about 33 minutes. The change was larger than initial simulations predicted.
Angela Stickle, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, noted the unique task. “We’ve never seen the interior of an asteroid before.” This lack of data is a primary limitation.
Closing in on Didymos. ☄️ Our planetary defence mission Hera has captured its first close-up of the binary asteroid system, 60 km away, as it prepares to investigate the aftermath of DART’s historic impact with Dimorphos. Detailed images of both asteroids are coming on 25… pic.twitter.com/VJmlvAtNwi
The efficiency of the deflection depends on the mass and internal structure of the target. Those were not measured during the DART mission. Patrick Michel of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) noted the need for Hera’s “asteroid autopsy” to investigate the impact.
Hera Will Deploy Companion CubeSats for Closer Observations
Hera is operating at a range of 25 to 30 kilometers. In January, the mission will deploy two companion CubeSats. Juventas and Milani will provide closer observations. They will also attempt to land on Dimorphos. Scientists hope to determine if the impact globally deformed Dimorphos. The full analysis is expected on November 25, 2026. Hera will provide sharper images then. The scientific survey continues through early 2027.
“Our views will grow much sharper as Hera comes closer,” ESA's mission manager Ian Carnelli said.
Earlier coverage: ESA's Hera Spacecraft Inspects Asteroid After NASA Impact Test
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