Hera mission: European Space Agency sending probe to asteroid

Image source, ESA/Science Office/PA Wire

Image caption, In 2022, Nasa intentionally crashed into an asteroid. This year, a probe is heading back to see what happened

In 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) will be sending a probe to check out a very special asteroid.

It's continuing on from the DART mission - when Nasa sent a missile probe to impact one of two asteroids.

DART stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. Nasa was trying to find out if it could redirect a potentially planet-destroying asteroid away from Earth in the future - and they succeeded!

This year, the Hera mission will lift-off to travel to investigate Dimorphos - one of the asteroids - to see what happened when the Nasa satellite hit it.

It is part of a joint project by ESA and Nasa called Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA).

Why did Nasa send a missile at an asteroid?

Video caption, Nasa: US space agency crashes spacecraft into asteroid

In 2022, Nasa successfully redirected an asteroid by hitting it with a missile.

Scientists wanted to test if they could redirect an asteroid, in case one headed towards us on Earth.

It happened 11 million km away from Earth - so it was very unlikely to cause issues on our planet!

What is the Hera mission?

Image source, NASA / ESA

The joint project known as AIDA wants to find out what actually happened to the asteroid. It knows that the missile changed the direction of the asteroid, but next it wants to learn where the asteroid is heading now, and what impact that could have on any future re-directions.

Scientists also want to learn how the collision affected the asteroid. They hope to do some space sleuthing to work out what went down on Dimorphos.

The Hera mission will launch in October this year.