ESA's Hera mission

ESA's astronomers are actively tracking 3I/ATLAS, which is now the third confirmed interstellar comet to pass through our Solar System! More info at: esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

Astronomers may have just discovered the third interstellar object passing through the Solar System! ESA’s Planetary Defenders are observing the object, provisionally known as #A11pl3Z, right now using telescopes around the world.

"Every time we have interacted with an asteroid, the reaction has been totally different from what we expected." Check out the replay from Saturday's @AsteroidDay Festival, featuring great speakers from @ESA_Hera, @VirtualTelescop and @NASAJPL! youtube.com/live/HI5RQeVbL…

Today, we are at the @AsteroidDay Festival in Luxembourg to share the excitement of ESA's Planetary Defence activities with visitors of all ages! Come and visit us at the ESA stand, or follow the event online at: youtube.com/watch?v=HI5RQe… Event programme: asteroidday.org/events-in-luxe…

All aboard for asteroid Apophis! ESA's Ramses mission aims to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis as it passes Earth in 2029. Ramses will deploy a CubeSat led by @emxys just a few kilometres from the surface of the asteroid to study it up close. esa.int/Space_Safety/P…

As the #HeraMission flew past planet Mars, we kept a close watch on Oxia Planum, the landing site for the @ESA_ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission. Can you spot the area where Europe plans to land a rover to search for signs of life on Mars in 2030?

📽️Why does #HeraMission need autonomous surface feature tracking for self-driving, recently tested at🔴Mars? When Hera ventures closest to its target asteroid, it will have no other way of navigating: esa.int/Space_Safety/H…

#BREAKING first time ever a spacecraft autonomously selected surface features and follows them enabling onboard vision-based navigation 🚀 Together with our partner @infoGMV we have successfully tested it during the Mars flyby 👇🏻

As #HeraMission flew past planet Mars it autonomously locked onto dozens of impact craters and other prominent surface features, tracking them over time, to test the self-driving technology the mission will employ to navigate around its target asteroids esa.int/Space_Safety/H…

This sped-up replay of the simulation that helped plan #HeraMission's gravity-assist Mars flyby on Wednesday now blends in actual Asteroid Framing Camera images acquired during the flyby, to compare simulation with observed reality!

TIRI successfully acquired images of Mars and its moon, Deimos! Click here for more details.✨ hera.isas.jaxa.jp/wp-hera/en/466…

🔴 Our #HeraMission just flew by Mars, using the planet’s gravity to speed up towards its target asteroids. Wondering what it was like for the mission engineers to assemble Hera? Make one with @LEGO_Group🧱 – choose your favourite model and get building! 🔨…

Any more questions about our #HeraMission Mars flyby? Why not ask our mission AI itself - the Hera Space Companion is ready to talk to you directly, featuring a brand new voice function! hera.space

The astronaut, the asteroid and Mars. 👨‍🚀☄️🔴 "I am very inspired by these images of Deimos and Mars – my second favourite planet – captured by the #HeraMission," says @Astro_Alex. "If we humans go to Mars one day and find traces of life, it would probably mean that the Universe…

#HeraMission #Mars flyby… and here is #Deimos, so beautiful 🤩 the spacecraft is nominal and now heading to its final destination #didymos

Revealed: the first images from @ESA's #HeraMission gravity-assist flyby of Mars! esa.int/Space_Safety/H…