The European Space Agency’s Hera mission, aimed at planetary defense against killer asteroids, successfully launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 from Florida, beginning its journey to a distant asteroid system over 60 million miles away.
The Hera mission is part of a global effort to develop a defense system following NASA’s successful 2022 test, which redirected a rogue asteroid by intentionally crashing a spacecraft into it. When it arrives two years from now, Hera will examine NASA’s crash site to confirm if the impact was successful. It will also analyze surface minerals and gravity, which will help refine future missions.
