Europe’s Hera spacecraft has captured its first image clearly distinguishing Dimorphos from Didymos, the binary asteroid system it is approaching. The spacecraft took the image on Oct. 18 from about 795 miles (1,280 kilometers) away. The pair was then roughly 122 million miles (197 million kilometers) from Earth.
Dimorphos appears as about one pixel in the image, but is visibly separated from the larger asteroid. Before the image was taken, Hera’s instruments had resolved the system only as a single point, said Michael Kueppers, the European Space Agency’s Hera project scientist.
NASA’s DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos in September 2022, changing its orbit in a planetary-defense test. Hera is traveling to examine the impact and study both asteroids. It launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in October 2024 and carried out braking maneuvers earlier this month to slow its approach.
Hera is equipped with 12 payloads for follow-up observations, and the mission also includes two CubeSats intended to study Dimorphos more closely and eventually land on it. The smaller asteroid is about 495 feet (151 meters) wide.
The spacecraft is expected to provide sharper views as it gets closer. ESA mission manager Ian Carnelli said the first detailed images of Dimorphos are due to be released on Nov. 25.
Sources: Space.com.