European Space Agency (ESA) said on Monday, October 7, that the Hera mission took off at 10:52 local time (14:52 UTC) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Via microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), the ESA shared the launch video of its first planetary defense mission.
“Launch! ESA's Hera mission lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA, on October 7 at 10:52 local time (16:52 CEST, 14:52 UTC), on a Spacits eX Falcon 9, the ESA.
Despite fears that an approaching Hurricane Milton could delay the launch, the probe blasted off into the cloudy sky on a SpaceX rocket.
“The Hera probe will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million asteroids in our solar system – the only body whose orbit has been shifted by human action – to resolve lingering uncertainties related to its deflection,” said the ESA in a statement.
The ESA said the Hera probe mission aims to inspect the damage caused by NASA spacecraft when they collided with an asteroid during the first test of Earth's planetary defenses.
“Hera will conduct the first detailed survey of a 'binary' – or double body – asteroid, 65803 Didymos, orbiting a smaller body, Dimorphos. Hera's main focus will be on Dimorphos, whose orbit around the main body was previously modified by NASA's kinetic-impacting DART spacecraft, ESA said.
Hera is expected to reach the asteroid 65803 Didymos and its moon in late 2026. It will collect additional data on the aftermath of the DART crash and how it changed the asteroid system.
The mission is critical to converting DART's kinetic impact into a technique that could help save Earth from incoming asteroids in the future.
“By advancing scientific understanding of this 'kinetic impact' technique of asteroid deflection, Hera should convert the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable technique to protect Earth from an asteroid on a collision course,” ESA said.
