Queen's astronomer joins first planetary defense mission

Queen's astronomer joins first planetary defense mission
by Sophie Jenkins
London, UK (SPX) Oct 07, 2024

A Queen's University astronomer is set to play a key role in the European Space Agency's (ESA) first planetary defense mission, a project two decades in the making. Professor Alan Fitzsimmons, from the university's Astrophysics Research Centre, will join the Hera mission from the European Space Operations Centre in Germany as it prepares to study how asteroids can be deflected to prevent a potential collision with Earth.

The ESA's Hera spacecraft, scheduled to launch between October 7 and 26, will lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Its goal is to collect vital data on how to deflect potentially dangerous asteroids and showcase new technologies, including what will be the first planned rendezvous with a binary asteroid system.

Professor Fitzsimmons will oversee key mission operations, culminating in a flyby of Mars in 2025, placing Hera on course to reach the Didymos and Dimorphos asteroid system by the end of 2026. The spacecraft's mission is to complete the experiment started by NASA's 2022 DART mission, which successfully altered Dimorphos' path as a proof-of-concept for asteroid deflection using "kinetic impactor" technology.

Since the discovery of more than 35,000 Near-Earth Asteroids, 1,657 have been identified as close enough to be considered possible risks. While no asteroids are expected to hit Earth within the next century, new asteroids are discovered yearly, raising concerns over future impacts capable of causing significant damage.

Hera will focus on measuring the mass and other properties of Dimorphos and Didymos. Its data will help scientists analyze the outcome of the DART impact, offering new insights into asteroid deflection techniques. "Hera is a critical step towards the day when humanity might need to deflect a threatening asteroid," said Professor Fitzsimmons. "It's a great example of how science can be used to prevent loss of life from natural disasters."

In addition to its defense objectives, Hera will deploy two small CubeSats to the asteroids, marking ESA's first deep-space CubeSat mission. These miniature spacecraft will test new technologies, including autonomous navigation and inter-satellite links. One CubeSat, Juventas, will use the smallest radar ever flown in space to study Dimorphos' internal structure. The other, Milani, will capture images of the asteroids in more colors than the human eye can detect.

Professor Patrick Michel, the Principal Investigator for Hera, highlighted the scientific importance of the mission, noting that it will provide the first detailed data on a binary asteroid and its internal structure. "Hera is fascinating because it will be performing the first rendezvous with a binary asteroid," he said.

Looking forward to 2026, Professor Fitzsimmons expressed excitement about the mission's future results. "It will be thrilling to get the data back and start applying it to potential asteroid threats in the future," he added.