ESA's Hera mission

A successful deep-space manoeuvre has put ESA’s Hera spacecraft on course for arrival at the Didymos binary asteroid system later this year! At Didymos, Hera will help turn asteroid deflection into a reliable technique for protecting Earth 🛡️🌍 esa.int/Space_Safety/H…

Surprising new study on @NASA's DART mission collision in 2022: not only did it change the orbit of the smaller Dimorphos asteroid, but it also shifted the solar orbit of its parent body Didymos. Hera's arrival this autumn will reveal more: nasa.gov/missions/dart/…

#ESAhighlights 2025 is out now. 👀 Read our free ESA Highlights magazine, summarising a complete year of space activity in impactful images and in-depth articles. 📅 👇esa.int/About_Us/ESA_P…

Check out ESA's 50 milestone achievements during our first half century in our ESA Delivers brochure: esa.int/About_Us/ESA_P…

One year ago #HeraMission was stranded on Earth, its launcher grounded, as a hurricane closed in on its launch site. 12 months later sees it cruising on the far side of the Sun. Learn the story of Hera in space: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia…

ESA welcomes JAXA's interest in participating in the Ramses mission to the asteroid Apophis, which will make a safe but exceptionally rare and scientifically valuable flyby of Earth in April 2029. esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

More information at: esa.int/Space_Safety/H… Asteroid (18805) Kellyday 👇

Hera's team @esaoperations used the spacecraft to observe two asteroids at short notice. This is a hot topic, as scientists discuss the possibility of using existing spacecraft to observe high-priority, deep-space objects like 2024 YR4 or 3I/ATLAS. Asteroid (1126) Otero 👇

ESA's Hera mission has spotted its first asteroids! Hera is on the way to the Didymos binary asteroid system to explore the aftermath of humankind's first attempt to move an asteroid. Though faint, these observations are very encouraging for the performance of Hera's camera.

ESA's astronomers are actively tracking 3I/ATLAS, which is now the third confirmed interstellar comet to pass through our Solar System! More info at: esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

Astronomers may have just discovered the third interstellar object passing through the Solar System! ESA’s Planetary Defenders are observing the object, provisionally known as #A11pl3Z, right now using telescopes around the world.

"Every time we have interacted with an asteroid, the reaction has been totally different from what we expected." Check out the replay from Saturday's @AsteroidDay Festival, featuring great speakers from @ESA_Hera, @VirtualTelescop and @NASAJPL! youtube.com/live/HI5RQeVbL…

Today, we are at the @AsteroidDay Festival in Luxembourg to share the excitement of ESA's Planetary Defence activities with visitors of all ages! Come and visit us at the ESA stand, or follow the event online at: youtube.com/watch?v=HI5RQe… Event programme: asteroidday.org/events-in-luxe…

All aboard for asteroid Apophis! ESA's Ramses mission aims to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis as it passes Earth in 2029. Ramses will deploy a CubeSat led by @emxys just a few kilometres from the surface of the asteroid to study it up close. esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

Want to keep Hera company during its voyage through space? Head over to hera.space and ask Hera questions about the mission, space exploration, asteroids, and planetary defence!

ESA's #HeraMission launched six months ago! Hera has already been treated to exciting views of two planets and their moons, but there is much more to come once it reaches the asteroid Didymos and its moonlet, Dimorphos, in late 2026.🛰️🔎🪨🪨

As the #HeraMission flew past planet Mars, we kept a close watch on Oxia Planum, the landing site for the @ESA_ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission. Can you spot the area where Europe plans to land a rover to search for signs of life on Mars in 2030?

📽️Why does #HeraMission need autonomous surface feature tracking for self-driving, recently tested at🔴Mars? When Hera ventures closest to its target asteroid, it will have no other way of navigating: esa.int/Space_Safety/H…

#BREAKING first time ever a spacecraft autonomously selected surface features and follows them enabling onboard vision-based navigation 🚀 Together with our partner @infoGMV we have successfully tested it during the Mars flyby 👇🏻

As #HeraMission flew past planet Mars it autonomously locked onto dozens of impact craters and other prominent surface features, tracking them over time, to test the self-driving technology the mission will employ to navigate around its target asteroids esa.int/Space_Safety/H…