USA / FRANCE — NASA and the European Space Agency are joining forces to research an asteroid system.
The ESA's Hera spacecraft will be the first to explore an asteroid system named 65803 Didymos. According to the space agency, Didymos measures 780 meters across. The asteroid system, is its orbiting moonlet "Didymoon" which is only 160 meters in width.
According to an ESA news release, the Hera spacecraft will research the crater formed
by the DART experiment in 2026. It collect data pertaining to the shape and dimensions of the DART crater, as well as surface samples. Hera will also use thermal imaging technology to examine the asteroid's structure. If the mission is successful, this moonlet will be the smallest asteroid ever visited by any spacecraft.
Prior to that, NASA will conduct its first planetary defense mission. According to the space agency, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will crash into the surface of Didymoon in 2022. NASA is aiming to change the speed and direction of the asteroid system with this test.
