The European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera spacecraft, designed for planetary defense, executed a Mars flyby on March 12, 2025. The maneuver leveraged Mars' gravity to alter Hera's trajectory, reducing travel time to the Didymos binary asteroid system and conserving fuel. During the flyby, Hera approached within 5000 km of Mars and imaged its moon Deimos from a minimum distance of 1000 km, venturing as close as 300 km. It also captured images of Phobos. Hera utilized its Asteroid Framing Camera, Thermal Infrared Imager (supplied by JAXA), and Hyperscout H hyperspectral imager to gather data during these close encounters. The mission aims to study the impact of a kinetic impactor on an asteroid, providing crucial data for future planetary defense strategies.
ESA's Hera Spacecraft Executes Mars Flyby, Accelerating Journey to Didymos Asteroid System for Planetary Defense Mission
Read more news on this topic:
ESA's Hera Mission Captures Rare Images of Martian Moon Deimos During Mars Flyby, Gaining Insights into Lunar Origins
ESA's Hera Mission to Perform Mars Flyby, Imaging Deimos in Preparation for Asteroid Defense Mission
ESA's Hera Spacecraft Uses Mars Gravity Assist En Route to Asteroid Dimorphos; Firefly's Blue Ghost Completes Lunar Mission
Did you find an error or inaccuracy?
We will consider your comments as soon as possible.