Investigating a crash scene is a major undertaking. Trying to figure out exactly what happened at the moment of impact, and how the impact affected the surrounding area is very important.
Investigating a crash scene that occurred thousands of miles away from Earth, however, is even harder.
In 2022, NASA intentionally crashed into an asteroid as a test of their Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). They monitored the event and were very happy with the results.
There is still a lot to learn from the asteroids, however, which is why the European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a spacecraft called Hera along with two small cubesats into space. They hitched a ride aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and successfully deployed from their toward the asteroid Dimorphos.
Hera should arrive on location in October of 2026. From there, it will spend six weeks analyzing the asteroid using its 11 onboard instruments to gather as much information as possible.
Once that initial part of the mission is complete, Hera will deploy two small cubesats, which are named Juventas and Milani, to do some up close investigation on the asteroid.
Juventas will use its radar to look below the surface of the asteroid to see what impact the crash had on it. Milani will analyze the rocks that make up the asteroid to see what minerals are present.
This information will help NASA and the ESA to determine exactly what happened after the DART crash occurred and why. While they already know that the crash was able to alter the asteroid’s trajectory as desired, the more they understand about the full impact, the better they will be able to prepare for any future missions where the Earth is actually in danger.
A space-based crash site investigation sounds incredible.
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