Tag

Hera Spacecraft

All articles tagged with #hera spacecraft

space2 years ago•3 min saved

"DART Mission Altered Asteroid Dimorphos' Orbit and Shape, NASA Study Reveals"

New research confirms that NASA's DART spacecraft crash into the asteroid Dimorphos not only changed its orbit but also reshaped it into a weaker, rubble-like form. The latest study, based on observations from ground-based telescopes and DART spacecraft data, suggests that the asteroid's shape changed from mostly round to a triaxial ellipsoid, resembling a watermelon. The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft plans to launch in October 2026 to conduct further detailed studies of Dimorphos and its parent asteroid, Didymos.

via VOA Learning English|

#asteroid #hera-spacecraft #nasa

space3 years ago•1 min saved

Didymos Asteroid Spinning Fast and Shooting Rocks into Space, Puzzling Astronomers and NASA

NASA scientists have discovered that the asteroid Didymos, which was the target of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) last year, is spinning so fast that it is capable of shooting pieces of rubble into space. This discovery could give us more clues about how planets and other celestial bodies are formed. The European Space Agency will launch a spacecraft called Hera next year to study the binary asteroid system and confirm this hypothesis, but the mission may prove riskier than initially thought due to the potential of stray debris.

via Futurism|

#asteroid #hera-spacecraft #nasa