Hera mission captures Earth-Moon images in early tests as it heads to asteroid Dimorphos

The European Space Agency's Hera mission, launched recently, is set to study the asteroid Dimorphos, which was altered by NASA's DART mission in 2022. Hera aims to gather detailed information about Dimorphos's current state and the impact's effects. Hera has already begun testing its instruments, capturing images of the Earth and Moon from over 1 million kilometers away. The mission's autonomous navigation systems have also been successfully tested during its journey into deep space. In the coming months, Hera will perform a fly-by of Mars in March 2025 to calibrate its instruments before heading to the Didymos system. The mission will provide crucial data on Dimorphos's characteristics and the effectiveness of kinetic impact techniques for asteroid deflection.