Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Hera aims to confirm if it is possible to deflect a hazardous asteroid on a collision course with the Earth, as a repeatable strategy ready for use in case of an actual asteroid threat
Thales Alenia Space provided key technologies onboard the Hera spacecraft, which will send essential data from the Didymos binary asteroid, similar to one that could potentially impact our Planet
Madrid, 8 October, 2024 - Hera, the European Space Agency's (ESA) first planetary defence mission, was successfully launched yesterday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The satellite is now heading to a unique target among the 1.3 million known asteroids of our Solar System.
If an incoming asteroid were to threaten Earth, what could be done to cope with the situation? On September 26th 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission performed humankind's first test of asteroid deflection by crashing into the Great-Pyramid-sized Dimorphos moonlet. This resulted in a shift of its orbit around the mountain-sized Didymos main asteroid.
Hera networking with Cubesats ESA
Next comes ESA's own contribution to the international Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration: the Hera mission will travel to Dimorphos so as to gather vital close-up data regarding the deflected body and turn DART's grand-scale kinetic impact experiment into a well-understood and potentially repeatable planetary defence technique. Hera will provide in particular accurate measurements concerning the asteroid's mass, as well as crucial information about its make-up and structure, which are essential to interpret the outcome of the impact.
The Hera mission, will also carry out the most detailed exploration to date of a binary asteroid system - although binaries make up 15% of all known asteroids, they have never been studied in detail. Hera will also perform technology demonstration experiments, including the deployment of ESA's first deep space CubeSats' - shoebox-sized spacecraft to venture closer than the main mission then eventually land - and an ambitious test of self-driving for the main spacecraft, based on vision-based navigation. The OHB System AG (Germany), as prime contractor of Hera, led the industrial consortium, including responsibility for the overall spacecraft design, development, assembly, and testing.
Thales Alenia Space's contribution: a teamwork between Spain, Italy and Belgium
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), provided key technologies onboard Hera spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space in Spain was responsible for the communications subsystem, which allows to control and track the spacecraft from a distance up to 500 million kilometre away and to send all the information gathered by Hera back to Earth. Thales Alenia Space in Italy developed the state-of-art Deep Space Transponder, while Thales Alenia Space in Belgium assembled the Travelling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTA) built by Thales, and developed the Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit (PCDU), which provides power to the spacecraft during all its lifetime.
Safeguarding our planet
Asteroids are bodies originated in the young stars nebulae that never grew to planets, formed of rock and metal. Among them, those that have an orbit that brings them close to Earth (within 45 million kilometres), known as near-Earth asteroids, represent a risk of hitting the Earth. There are plenty of such bodies in our Solar system, from tiny little ones measuring a few meters (there are 40-50 millions of them) up to larger ones, measuring more than 1 km but much more scarce (there's less than 1000 of them).
Neither the smaller near-Earth asteroids nor the larger ones represent a real threat to humanity. Small asteroids actually hit the Earth quite frequently (every two weeks) with no consequences. The larger ones, although potentially dangerous, are well known and tracked, and it takes millions of years to have one of them hitting the Earth. Actually, a 10km asteroid impact is the most accepted theory of the Cretaceous extinction around 66 million years ago, ending with three-quarters of the plant and animal species, among others the dinosaurs.
Hera scans DARTs impact crater ESA
The mid-sized class asteroids of more than 100 meters are the ones we need to worry about. There are about 30,000 near-Earth asteroids of the 100 to 300 meter size class, 82% of them still to be spotted, hitting the Earth every 10,000 years. The impact energy of such an asteroid is equivalent to around 50 megatons of TNT, the power of a Tsar Bomba . The effect of such an impact would be devastating if it reached a populated area, capable of destroying an entire city or to create a tsunami if it impacted a sea.
The Didymos binary asteroid system is prototypical in terms of size of the thousands of asteroids that pose a hazardous risk of impact to our planet. Around the Dydimos main body, 780 meter in diameter, orbits the 150 meter Dimorphos moonlet, which is the first body in the Solar System to have had its orbit measurably changed through human action, by the DART impact, and it is also the smallest asteroid yet visited by humankind.
The Hera spacecraft will reach the binary asteroid in October 2026, after a two-year cruise phase. The day Hera reaches Didymos, it will be 195 million km away from Earth.
ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE
Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
09/06/2026
Last month, Spotify hosted PURE FLOWERS LIVE, a special event celebrating the re...
09/06/2026
Last month, RADAR U.K. artist Skye Newman took the stage in East London for a sp...
09/06/2026
Company to cease operating on 30 June 2026
Australian loudspeaker and amplifier manufacturer Wayne Jones Audio have announced that after much consideration,...
09/06/2026
Increases low-end weight and character
The latest plug-in release from Sheffield-based fedDSP aims to offer an all-in-one solution for users in search of mo...
09/06/2026
Introduces AI Studio Assistant, Moises Studio integration & more
Fender Studio have just announced the launch a significant update that brings an array of n...
09/06/2026
The BBC has found its Hercule Poirot.
After Deadline revealed last month that t...
09/06/2026
X-Rite Pantone Launches Offset360 to Modernize Color Control Across Existing Pre...
09/06/2026
09 Jun 2026
VEON Appoints Serkan Ozturk as Chief of Staff & Strategy Officer Dubai and New York, June 9, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital oper...
09/06/2026
Tuesday 9 June 2026
Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a candid and unfiltered accou...
09/06/2026
Enni Continues to Rely on Arvato Systems - And Will Be Using AEP.EnerS4 Billing Solution
Arvato Systems to implement transformation project for SAP S/4HANA Ut...
09/06/2026
These special programmes will highlight RT 's connection with the Irish diaspora
This year, RT is marking 100 years of public broadcasting in Ireland with...
08/06/2026
At Spotify, our commitment to the LGBTQIA community is year-round. Through GLOW, our global music program, we celebrate and amplify the contributions of queer ...
08/06/2026
Get Hands-on With Keyboard & Synth Brands
GearExpo UK wouldn't be complete without some synth action, and we've got some of the industry's most ...
08/06/2026
50 popular in-ear monitoring system profiles added
The latest update for IK Multimedia's headphone-correction system has just arrived, and introduces ca...
08/06/2026
Manny Marroquin signature cans upgraded with SLAM Technology
The flagship model in Audeze's Manny Marroquin Signature Series has just been treated to an...
08/06/2026
Air domain supremacy redefined - New counter UAS, space solutions and directiona...
08/06/2026
he BBC and BritBox have announced that Edward Bluemel (We Might Regret This, My ...
08/06/2026
Plus, 20% off TVs ahead of kick-offMonday 8 June 2026
Sky introduces Real Time...
08/06/2026
FOX Secures Live NFL Game Package in Mexico Starting in Fall 2026 Agreement Features Thursday Night Football, Sunday Games Package, Thanksgiving Day Games, al...
08/06/2026
FOX One, FOX Sports and Indeed Name Austin Franklin and Kevin Akoto as FOX One C...
08/06/2026
Meet us on the show floor
Stand #286310 Discover Nara, the media management tool used by major facilities including Harbor and Molinare.
Nara v2 introduces re...
08/06/2026
L'art de l'Image dans Reflet dans un diamant mort' Une conversation avec le directeur de la photographie Manuel Dacosse, SBC et l' talonneur Pe...
08/06/2026
Embracing today's modern media workflows: FilmLight presents Nara 2.0, with FilmLight API Designed to support the growing demands of today's production ...
08/06/2026
Moderated by Andy Minuth, FilmLight's Colour Workflow Specialist
Wednesday 18 February
6:00pm / Doors open
7:00pm / Presentation in German
8:00pm / Drin...
08/06/2026
Join us on April 14 at 10:00am for a technical roundtable with the Filmlight dev...
08/06/2026
You're invited to FLAPI Classroom The fundamentals of coding and machine-assisted development
These sessions will help you build the skills needed to cre...
08/06/2026
With Sylvain Canaux (St Louis, Paris) and J r me Cloutier (MELS, Montreal)
Wednesday 6 May
Pick your time: 1:00PM / 5:00PM
Note: The presentation will be hel...
08/06/2026
FilmLight, 1107 N El Centro Ave, Los Angeles
Doors open at 3:30pm
Join the FilmLight team on June 9th at 4pm to learn how FilmLight products and APIs can stre...
08/06/2026
The Creators List launched to Help Brands Connect With Top Creators In CannesThe curated directory launched by Tubefilter, Comscore, Whalar Group and Gospel Sta...
08/06/2026
Irish YouTube star DavidMC joins Aisling O'Reilly to tackle all things socce...
07/06/2026
Company introduce 21 new protective covers
Decksaver have just announced their Sping 2026 Drop, which sees a total of 21 new models added to their ever-grow...
07/06/2026
Sunday 7 June 2026
Dynamo Vs Houdini comes to Sky later this year
The last time the world saw Dynamo, he buried himself alive. This weekend, he returned.
Mom...
06/06/2026
Check Out Leading Monitor Brands
We'll have monitors of all shapes and sizes at GearExpo UK, so whether you're looking to upgrade or expand your set...
06/06/2026
Two Originals offerings join MPC line-up
Following on from their partnership announcement at NAMM 2026, Spitfire Audio and Akai Pro have announced the relea...
05/06/2026
Built from the same recordings as flagship library
Sonuscore's LUX Orchestral Strings has been met with widespread praise since its launch in late 2025,...
05/06/2026
High-end converter, interface & headphone amp upgraded
Said to represent the next evolution of RME's all-in-one reference converter concept, the all-new...
05/06/2026
Win a Soundgas Type 636P & Type G preamps
Soundgas, one of the UK's leading vintage and boutique audio equipment specialists have just announced the lau...
05/06/2026
New leadership of Technology Systems Division at Rohde & Schwarz On July 1, 2026, Hansj rg Herrbold and Andreas H gele will take over as Executive Vice Presid...
05/06/2026
Hitachi and Intel announced a strategic collaboration to explore opportunities t...
05/06/2026
05 Jun 2026
VEON's Kyivstar to Expand Digital Mobility Ecosystem with Acqui...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
03/06/2026
Step sequencer-style panning tool revealed
Alongside their flagship self-titled sound-design platform, Sound Particles offer an array of creative effects an...
Facebook 
