ESA’s Hera probe has sent its first image in which Didymos (about 780 m across) and its moon Dimorphos (about 151 m) appear as two objects instead of one point of light. Dimorphos is the target NASA’s DART spacecraft hit at 6.1 km/s in September 2022, shortening its orbit by 32–33 minutes: “the first object in the Solar System to have had its orbit measurably shifted by human action,” says mission manager Ian Carnelli. Hera and its two CubeSats, Milani and Juventas, will map the crater and probe the moon’s interior with radar. ESA plans to release the first detailed images of Dimorphos on 25 November. Our take: this is how planetary defence is checked — by going back to look.
780 mDidymos, the larger asteroid
151 mDimorphos, the moon DART hit
25 Novfirst detailed Dimorphos images due