Hera closes in on Didymos asteroid pair to study DART impact damage

ESA's Hera mission has performed a braking maneuver and will fly within 30 km of the Didymos binary asteroid system in early November to study the aftermath of NASA's 2022 DART impact on Dimorphos. The probe will measure the asteroid's mass and shifted orbit, then deploy the Milani and Juventas cubesats in January 2027.

• Hera will approach the asteroids to within 30 km in early November
• DART shortened Dimorphos's orbital period from 11h 55m to 11h 23m
• Cubesats Milani and Juventas deploy in January 2027
• The mission will survey the system for at least six months