Mars and Its Giant Moon Captured in Groundbreaking Flyby Photos
Spacecraft Captures First Images of Mars's Moon Deimos
BBQ, here we've got the lowdown on some out-of-this-world news! The European Space Agency's Hera mission has made history, beaming back mind-blowing snapshots of Mars and its tiddlywinks-sized moon, Deimos, during a flyby on March 12. Sounds like a sci-fi flick, huh? Well, grab your popcorn, because it's all real!
The flyby was a game-changer, providing Hera with a crucial gravitational boost en route to the Didymos binary asteroid system. Remember that asteroid system NASA got all up in a few years back with its DART spacecraft? Yeah, this is the move that's gonna take us to the next level.
These phenomenal pics - still images and gifs - are the first scientific data gathered by Hera's hardware beyond Earth's cozy neighborhood. They were snapped from about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) away from the far side of Deimos, as saw from dear old Mars. Just like its celestial sister, Deimos is a one-sided gal, always facing the same Mars.
Deimos orbits Mars every 30.3 hours at quite a height compared to fellow Martian moon Phobos. Unlike Phobos, which is inching ever closer to Mars, Deimos is slowly slipping away. Deimos was discovered way back in 1877 by astronomer Asaph Hall, and it's the littlest of Mars's two moons, measuring a dinky 7.7 miles (12.4 kilometers) across. Its dust-coated surface is believed to be a leftover from a colossal collision on Mars or perhaps a captured asteroid.
Timing is everything, and the flyby couldn't have been better. Hera's data will be invaluable for planning the Martian Moon eXploration Mission (MMX), led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and set to launch in 2026. MMX will measure both Martian moons and nail a landing on Phobos to collect a sample for Earth-bound analysis.
The Hera spacecraft, blasted off in October 2023, is expected to rendezvous with Didymos in 2026. The next major event on the agenda is a series of pinpoint-precise thruster burns in late 2026 leading up to Hera's arrival in December of that year. Its targets, Dimorphos and Didymos, are tiny - Dimorphos is just 151 meters in diameter, making Deimos seem like a mammoth by comparison. NASA's DART plowed into Dimorphos in a speedy 15,000 miles per hour back in 2022, trying to shift the asteroid's path.
Hera heads to Didymos to meticulously measure the aftermath, hoping to learn if - as suspected - this was a practice run for potential future planetary defense missions.
"This is just the beginning, babycakes," said Ian Carnelli, Hera mission manager. "In 21 months, the spacecraft will reach our targets and kick-start our in-depth investigation of the first ever object in our solar system to have had its orbit altered by human action."
So sit back, relax, and marvel at humanity's foray into the beyond! Until next time! 🚀BAAM!🌟
Wishing you a universe full of curiosity and a cosmic spirit of adventure!
- The Hera spacecraft's flyby of Mars's moon Deimos not only produced awe-inspiring images but also provided a significant gravitational boost, aiding in the mission's journey towards the Didymos binary asteroid system, where the Martian Moon eXploration Mission (MMX) plans to study Mars's moons and collect a sample from Phobos.
- Launched in 2023, the Hera spacecraft will reach the Didymos asteroid system in 2026, notably closer to the asteroids than NASA's DART mission which targeted Dimorphos in 2022.
- Hera's upcoming rendezvous with Dimorphos and Didymos will allow for the measurement of the aftermath caused by NASA's DART mission, aiming to determine if asteroid deflection is a realistic solution for potential future planetary defense missions.
