SpaceNovember 7, 2026

Hera photographs asteroid Didymos up close after the DART impact

ESA’s probe took its first close-up of the binary system from 60 km, seeing the face DART never showed.

In 2022, NASA smashed DART into Dimorphos and changed its orbit. Now Europe arrives to inspect the cosmic crime scene.

Story illustration: Hera photographs asteroid Didymos up close after the DART impact

The European Space Agency released on November 5, 2026 the first close image of the Didymos binary system from its Hera mission. The Asteroid Framing Camera captured the primary asteroid (about 780 m) from roughly 60 km; the moonlet Dimorphos (151 m) lies almost hidden in shadow. Principal investigator Patrick Michel (CNRS / Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur) called the far side of Didymos “a whole new world”: the same equatorial ridge, but more boulders, craters and possible grooves or ridges.

After a two-year flight, Hera is about 196.8 million km from Earth. The 580 kg DART craft hit Dimorphos at about 6.1 km/s on September 26, 2022 and shortened its orbital period around Didymos by about 33 minutes. Mission scientist Michael Kueppers notes that some ejected material may have crossed the kilometer gap and left marks on Didymos.

Hera’s goal is to turn kinetic asteroid deflection from a one-off experiment into a well-understood, repeatable planetary-defense technique. Detailed images of both asteroids are planned for November 25.

Key facts

Hera’s first close-up: Didymos from ~60 km (ESA, Nov 5, 2026).
Didymos ~780 m; Dimorphos ~151 m, nearly in shadow in the frame.
DART shortened Dimorphos’s orbit by ~33 minutes (2022 impact).
Current distance ~196.8 million km; detailed views of both bodies due Nov 25.

Seeing up close the first asteroid whose orbit we deliberately moved is the missing step toward knowing whether we could someday nudge a dangerous one aside.

Original source: ESA Hera