Europa is preparing to launch Hera, its first interplanetary defense mission to repel asteroids

Is mission that dinosaurs would need to save yourself from extinction. Europe is preparing to launch Project Hera, its first interplanetary defense mission learn how to act in the face of possible arrival of a large asteroid to Earth. Statistically, we know that at some point a large space rock could crash into our planet, and if it does, it could have devastating consequences. For this reason European Space Agency launches an unprecedented project to understand What to do if a large asteroid is approachinghow to avoid its effects and ultimately save all forms of life living on our planet. “We are faced with something historic,” say supporters of this mission.

Hera is currently resting inside SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

. If everything goes according to plan, The vehicle will depart on Monday the 7th at around 5:00 pm. (Spanish Peninsula Time) from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida, USA. Although yes, on the eve of takeoff it is not yet clear whether the weather conditions are completely favorable for launch. Especially after Hurricane Helen passed through the area.

It is also unclear whether the rocket was able to correct the technical problems that prevented its last takeoff. The control tower warns that if Monday’s launch is delayed, the mission there will be a period of three weeksuntil October 27 to take flight. That’s a launch window large enough that, with luck, Hera could launch into space.

The mission will travel to the asteroids Dimorphos and Didymo to study their composition and determine their weak points.

If all goes according to plan, the mission will launch in October this year. Once in space, the probe will perform several technical maneuvers to travel to your final destination. During the tour you will pass through Mars and will use its “gravitational pull” to gain speed and head towards the couple asteroids Dimorpho and Didimlocated over 11 million kilometers away of our planet. In general, it is assumed that the probe It will take about two years to achieve the goal. Once there, around 2026, the mission will have to conduct detailed operations to study these giant space rocks, larger than the Eiffel Tower and almost as tall as the Burj Khalifa, to understand what they are made of and find their weak points.

Achilles’ heel of an asteroid

Mission cost 363 million eurostake yours name of the Greek goddess Heradefender of marriages and families. This is a half-ton probe consisting of a “box” measuring about 6.5 meters on each side and “wings” with a total length of 11.5 meters. According to the creators, there are a total of 12 scientific instruments on board the mission. These include several advanced cameras (with infrared and thermal detection technologies) to study the composition of asteroids, scan your structure And find out your weak points.

Hera will go into space with two small satellites further: Youth, which takes its name from a nymph from classical mythology and Milani, named after the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Milani, one of the pioneers in the study of asteroids potentially dangerous to our planet.

The €363 million probe will launch into space with two nanosatellites that will help illuminate space rocks.

Hera’s mission will be to study the most effective way to deflect or destroy the asteroid. To achieve this, the European probe will follow in the footsteps of NASA’s DART project, which two years ago it collided with the asteroid Dimorphos.Didim’s satellite to deflect its orbit. Early analyzes from a distance indicate that the American mission has accomplished its mission, but even so, its real impact is not yet clear. Now Hera goes there to collect as much information as possible about these asteroids, understand their composition and find your Achilles heel In case one day such a rock comes close to the Earth, we will know how to destroy it.

Data collected by both Hera and DART missions will be used to compile the map the first ever “interplanetary defense system”. For decades, the world’s major space agencies have been monitoring the passage of asteroids near our planet to detect possible threats. Now the goal is to take it one step further and make a plan in case a giant space rock appears. An American probe has demonstrated that it is possible to deflect an asteroid by crashing the probe into its surface. The European mission has a goal find out if this milestone was the result of an accident or whether asteroids are actually susceptible to “breaking apart” in the event of this type of collision. Regardless, Hera will also be working to gather information that will allow us to find a plan B in case we encounter a more resilient space rock.

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