Europe’s HERA mission has captured rare images of Mars’ small moon Deimos as it flew by the planet on its way to investigate a historic asteroid collision. The spacecraft, which is set to reach the asteroid in late 2026, used Mars’ gravity to get a “kick” that also changed its direction and saved fuel.
During its flyby, HERA flew within 5,600 kilometers of the Martian surface at a speed of 33,480 kilometers an hour. The spacecraft took around 600 pictures, including rare shots of Deimos. The new images are expected to provide valuable insights into the moon’s composition and origin.
Deimos is one of two moons of Mars, with its formation still being debated among scientists. Some believe it was once an asteroid that was captured by Mars’ gravity, while others think it could have been formed from a massive impact on the surface. The images from HERA will help shed light on this mystery.
Next, HERA’s focus will shift to the asteroid Dimorphos, which was targeted by NASA’s DART mission in 2022. The mission successfully shortened Dimorphos’ orbit around its big brother Didymos. HERA aims to determine if this technique could be an effective way for Earth to defend itself against potentially threatening asteroids.
Space agencies are working to improve Earth’s planetary defenses, monitoring potential threats and developing new missions like the upcoming Ramses mission, which will launch in 2028 to observe the asteroid Apophis. With improved scanning capabilities, more asteroids are expected to be discovered at a higher rate.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-03-asteroid-probe-snaps-rare-pics.html