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The long-awaited Hera mission, which will follow the wildly successful DART mission that struck and moved an asteroid, is scheduled to launch on October 7, 2024. Hera should arrive at Didymos and Dimorphos in about two years to conduct a \u201ccrime scene investigation,\u201d as ESA \u2013 the mission planner \u2013 said. Hera will launch from Kennedy Space Center. The current date and time of launch, according to NASA, is at 14:52 UTC (10:52 a.m. EDT) on October 7, 2024. The launch window is open until October 25. <\/p>\n
When DART his Didymos\u2019s little moonlet Dimorphos, it made a big splash, kicking up debris and pushing the asteroid slightly out of its previous orbit. It may even have created a new meteor shower for Earth! Hera is going to learn more about just what happened when DART impacted the little asteroid. ESA said there are three mysteries that Hera will help solve:<\/p>\n
\n2) Hera will map the crater created by DART\u2019s impact down to 10 cm resolution to help scientists better understand how the surface material responded to the collision. It\u2019s possible that there is no crater at all, rather the impact reshaped the entire asteroid! pic.twitter.com\/jmp7K4MXjT<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 ESA’s Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) September 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nHera’s investigation of Dimorphos and Didymos will complete the story that DART began two years ago and turn asteroid deflection into a well understood and repeatable technique for protecting Earth from a potential asteroid impact. Stay tuned for launch next month!\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/L3Wjg16U7m<\/a><\/p>\n