ESA's Hera mission has successfully completed key maneuvers to align with the Didymos binary asteroid system, using Mars for a gravity assist to reduce travel time.

ESA’s Hera Mission Begins with Critical Maneuver

The European Space Agency's Hera mission has successfully carried out its first critical maneuver on its way to the Didymos binary asteroid system, following its launch on October 7.

Figure 1. Hera: ESA's Mission to Study Didymos and DART's Impact

On October 23, Hera engaged its three orbital control thrusters for 100 minutes, performing its first deep-space maneuver and altering its velocity by about 146 m/s. A second, smaller burn on November 6, lasting 13 minutes, provided an additional velocity boost of around 20 m/s. Figure 1 shows Hera: ESA's Mission to Study Didymos and DART's Impact.

These two precisely coordinated burns have positioned Hera on a targeted trajectory for a gravity assist at Mars, scheduled for March 2025.

"Deep-space maneuvers are often divided into stages," explained Sylvain Lodiot, Hera Spacecraft Operations Manager. "The first, larger burn does the majority of the work. After precisely measuring the spacecraft’s trajectory, the second, smaller burn is used to correct any inaccuracies and provide the final required boost."

This successful maneuver follows three earlier test burns performed by the control team at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany, shortly after Hera's launch.

The team utilized the Agency’s deep space radio dishes in Spain, Argentina, and Australia to track Hera during the maneuver and accurately measure its velocity before and after each burn.

“We are currently analyzing Hera’s new trajectory following the second burn,” said Francesco Castellini from ESOC’s Flight Dynamics team, the experts responsible for keeping ESA missions on course across the Solar System.

“It seems to have gone very well. We will perform a small correction maneuver of a few tens of cm/s on November 21 to fine-tune the trajectory for the upcoming Mars flyby.”

Mars Provides a Helping Hand

Hera is embarking on a two-year journey to the Didymos binary asteroid system, where it will study the results of humanity’s first asteroid deflection experiment.

The recent deep-space maneuver was meticulously planned to position Hera for a gravity assist from Mars in March 2025, which will help reduce its travel time to Didymos.

“We’re fortunate that Mars is in the right position to assist Hera,” says Pablo Muñoz from ESOC’s Mission Analysis team, who planned the spacecraft’s trajectory. “This allows us to leverage Mars' gravity to accelerate Hera towards Didymos, saving significant fuel and enabling Hera to reach the asteroids months sooner than expected.”

Scientific Potential and Upcoming Maneuvers

Hera will also capitalize on the Mars flyby for some scientific opportunities. The spacecraft is set to pass just 300 km from Deimos, Mars' smaller moon, before approaching Mars itself, providing a rare chance to study this enigmatic celestial body.

In February 2026, Hera will perform a second deep-space maneuver, followed by a series of rendezvous maneuvers from October to December 2026, bringing it closer to the Didymos system.

Once it reaches Didymos, Hera will begin investigating key scientific questions, such as: How and why do binary asteroid systems form? Did NASA’s DART mission create a crater or alter the entire structure of Dimorphos when it impacted in 2022? What is the internal composition of Dimorphos?

ESA’s Expanding Focus on Asteroid Missions

ESA's asteroid teams have been busy lately. In October, the Agency launched its first asteroid mission, Hera, and began work on its second, the proposed Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis.

At the same time, ESA's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre has been actively discovering, tracking, and analyzing new asteroids, recently contributing to the identification of the tenth asteroid ever discovered before impacting Earth.

About the Hera Mission

The European Space Agency's Hera mission is a key part of an international effort to explore asteroid dynamics and planetary defense. Focused on the Didymos binary asteroid system, Hera will investigate Dimorphos, where NASA's 2022 DART mission impacted, to study crater formation, asteroid composition, and internal structure. By collecting high-resolution data and utilizing advanced scientific methods, Hera aims to deepen our understanding of binary asteroids and contribute to the development of effective asteroid deflection strategies.

Source: SciTechDaily

Cite this article:

Janani R (2024), Deep-Space Thrusters Launch Hera’s Mission to Didymos, AnaTechmaz, pp. 135