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ISAE-SUPAERO BACK ON MISSION WITH HERA
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• The Hera mission, an international planetary defence mission, is on its way to study the Dimorphos asteroid, which was hit by DART in 2022.
• ISAE-SUPAERO is actively involved in this international planetary defence programme through the research work of Naomi Murdoch and the SSPA team.
Dimorphos, 195 million kilometres away! On October 7, the Hera probe took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to return to the asteroid hit by the DART probe in September 2022. This international planetary defence mission involves the research team led by Naomi Murdoch, a planetary scientist in the Institute’s Optronics and Signal Electronics Research Department.
Dimorphos, the Asteroid Thrown Off Course
Return to September 2022. As part of an international planetary defense programme, the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) missile probe violently collides with the asteroid Dimorphos, a moon of the asteroid Didymos.
“This first attempt at asteroid redirection was a success, with measurable effects on the Dimorphos orbit, demonstrating the feasibility of modifying the trajectory of an asteroid." recalls Naomi Murdoch.
This Phase 1, led by NASA, is the first major success in an ambitious programme to protect the Earth from near-Earth objects that threaten our planet. During this mission, images, and data were collected using ground-based observatories and an Italian cubesat (LICIACube) accompanying the DART kamikaze spacecraft. The planetary scientist then works on analysing and interpreting the scientific data collected to determine the physical properties of these asteroids.
Watch the video interview in which she talks about the success of the DART mission and the school’s involvement in her research work:
Arrival in orbit around Didymos scheduled for late 2026
Phase 2 of this programme led by ESA, the European Space Agency, bears the name of Hera, the Greek goddess of marriage. With this new mission, the planetary defence community aims to return to the site of the DART impact in order to characterise the two asteroids in detail, and thus validate the deflection technique developed with DART.
To do this, the Hera spacecraft, which weighs just over a tonne, was propelled by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher. It carries many instruments, including two 6U cubesats— Juventas and Milani—two small satellites weighing 12 kg each.
Among these scientific instruments, the cameras, and sensors on board the two cubesats are directly relevant to the research work being carried out by Naomi Murdoch and the two members of the SSPA team working alongside her: Alexia Duchêne and Jeanne Bigot.
In particular, the team is working on determining the physical properties of the asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos—the small moon of the Didymos binary asteroid system—by interpreting the data collected.
Their work on this mission will involve “carrying out an in-depth analysis of the mass, composition and internal structure of Dimorphos, as well as the size and shape of the crater left by the impact of DART.” explains Alexia Duchêne.
“Today, we don’t even know if we’ll find a crater" adds Jeanne Bigot. “The latest predictions from the Hera team indicate that it is highly likely that DART induced a global deformation of the asteroid!".
To find the answers, they will rely on images transmitted by the probe’s cameras from the two CubeSats orbiting the two asteroids. The two small satellites deployed will attract the on-board sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes to the surface to study the rebound and landing phase.
“Hera is an investigator, returning to the DART impact site to gather vital clues about the asteroid’s properties and the consequences of the impact. Season 1 ended with the dramatic DART impact - now it’s time for season 2 with Hera!” enthuses Naomi Murdoch.
HERA IS AN INVESTIGATOR, RETURNING TO THE SITE OF THE DART IMPACT TO GATHER VITAL CLUES ABOUT THE PROPERTIES OF THE ASTEROID AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE IMPACT. SEASON 1 ENDED WITH THE DRAMATIC DART IMPACT - NOW IT’S TIME FOR SEASON 2 WITH HERA!
The success of the previous DART mission and the high expectations of the new Hera mission are part of major objectives for the American and European space agencies, namely the vital issue of being able to divert an asteroid from its trajectory in order to preserve Earth. Alongside NASA and ESA, ISAE-SUPAERO has been involved in this programme for many years, thanks to the excellence of its research and the commitment of its researchers, of whom Naomi Murdoch is a world-renowned expert in the field.
TWO DOCTORAL STUDENTS WITH BRILLIANT RESULTS
Alexia Duchêne and Jeanne Bigot, both members of the SSPA team, have recently made a name for themselves by publishing scientific articles on their research work in the prestigious journal Nature Communication.
In particular, Alexia Duchêne worked on estimating the mechanical properties of the Dimorphos moon, a key piece of information for understanding and modelling the impact of DART. She has also developed an image analysis method for studying rock morphology, which can be applied to all space missions.
Jeanne Bigot’s work involved studying the geotechnical properties of the primary asteroid Didymos using DART images. The student worked for a year under the supervision of Naomi Murdoch to assess the bearing capacity of the surface, a parameter that indicates whether an object or lander remains on the surface or sinks.
