The next European asteroid mission, which can be launched in 2023, will use the same navigation principles as unmanned vehicles.
This mission to protect the planet from an asteroid threat, called Hera (the device with autonomous navigation system) in honor of the Greek goddess, the patroness of marriage, involves a trip to the 780-meter asteroid Didymos and its tiny satellite Didymoon, whose diameter is 160 meters.
While for most space missions sent beyond the Earth’s orbit, navigation is performed by controllers located on the surface of our planet, Hera’s mission will be equipped with an integrated automatic navigation system. This will allow Hera to manage their position and speed in real time, instead of waiting for a few minutes for commands from the Earth.
Just like an unmanned vehicle, the Hera spacecraft will use data from sensors, cameras and lasers to “build a solid model of the surrounding space” as input signals, the mission project representatives said.
Hera will not be controlled all the time in autopilot mode. The concept of the mission still assumes control from the Earth, and the verification of the new navigation system will not start until all the goals set for the mission have been fulfilled, the mission project management reported.
The Hera mission is part of the larger Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission, which also includes a NASA vehicle heading towards the same asteroid system. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is aimed at ramming the surface of the asteroid with a spacecraft — and with this suicide bomber two small cubicles will be sent to study the surface of the asteroid. At the same time, the Hera probe will be in orbit around the asteroid and observe the collision, after which it will approach the collision site for a more detailed study of the impact crater formed on the surface of the asteroid.
Hera mission will help to change asteroid trajectory
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