Europe's Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of asteroid in planetary defence mission

AI Summary

The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft has begun close inspections of the asteroid Dimorphos as part of a planetary-defence mission. The mission is investigating how NASA's 2022 impact test changed the asteroid's course to inform future asteroid-deflection efforts.

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission is studying how the asteroid Dimorphos’ course was affected following NASA’s 2022 mission to ram it as they explore planetary defence solutions.