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SpaceX will launch Europe’s Hera spacecraft toward the asteroid Dimorphos for a post-impact evaluation on Monday (Oct. 7), and you can watch the liftoff live.
The European Space Agency‘s Hera mission will visit Dimorphos — the asteroid that NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft knocked off course in September 2022. Hera will assess the aftermath of that impact and study both the surface and internal structure of the asteroid in greater detail.
The main Hera spacecraft and its two partner cubesats, named Milani and Juventas, are set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday (Oct. 7) at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. You can watch the launch live here at Space.com, courtesy of ESA, or directly via the agency.
Dimorphos is a moonlet of the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. The binary asteroid system was previously visited by NASA’s DART spacecraft, which intentionally collided with Dimorphos in 2022 and changed its orbit around Didymos as a demonstration of a planetary defense technique designed to change the trajectory of a potentially hazardous asteroid.
If all goes well, Hera will arrive at Dimorphos in late 2026. The spacecraft will evaluate the size and depth of the crater created by DART, as well as the efficiency of the impact.
Related: Behold the 1st images of DART’s wild asteroid crash!
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Hera will also deploy two cubesats to study the internal structure, surface minerals and gravity at Dimorphos. This data will help researchers better understand how the impact affected the asteroid and, in turn, provide valuable information for future asteroid deflection missions.
Hera and its two cubesats arrived at their launch site in Florida in early September. The mission is aiming to lift off on Monday (Oct. 7), though the launch period runs through Oct. 27. Launching any time within this window will allow Hera to reach its destination at Dimorphos. Be sure to follow along with the mission and check back for coverage of the launch here at Space.com.
