The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft has cleared two critical imaging trials designed to mimic the conditions it will face when approaching its target asteroids in 2026, ESA said on Tuesday.
Hera, launched in October 2024, is on course for the Didymos binary asteroid system to conduct a post-impact assessment of Dimorphos, the smaller body whose orbit was altered by NASA’s 2022 DART impact mission. Before arrival, ESA needed to validate the spacecraft’s ability to detect and track small, faint targets at long distances.
In May, Hera’s Asteroid Framing Camera locked onto (1126) Otero, a rare A-type asteroid, from roughly three million kilometers away. Over a three-hour session, it took images every six minutes, producing a time-lapse that revealed Otero’s movement against a backdrop of stars.
A second trial on July 19 targeted (18805) Kellyday, a much dimmer object appearing 40 times fainter than Otero. Despite the low brightness, Hera successfully captured its trajectory. “The results from these rapid-response observations are very encouraging,” said Giacomo Moresco, Flight Dynamics Engineer at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Germany.
ESA says the trials replicate the challenge of first sighting Didymos and Dimorphos upon arrival, when quick and accurate positioning will be essential to studying the aftermath of the DART impact and refining planetary defense strategies.
