NASA’s DART mission successfully deflected the asteroid Dimorphos through kinetic impact in 2022, altering its trajectory. ESA’s Hera mission, launching in October 2023, aims to study this event's aftermath and gather detailed insights into binary asteroid systems,

A Belfast-based astronomer is to take part in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first planetary-defence mission, to help ward off the threat of an asteroid crashing into Earth.

The European Space Agency's Hera mission will set off from Cape Canaveral on 7 October on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It will travel several hundred million kilometers to reach the double asteroid Didymos in autumn 2026.

The European Space Agency is sending a probe to get a closer look at the asteroid Dimorphos, which had its orbit altered by NASA’s DART mission in 2022