Hera Images Asteroid Pair Ahead of Detailed Data
The image confirms the mission can resolve the Didymos binary system, with close-range Dimorphos data due November 25.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Space
The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft captured an image on October 18 in which the Dimorphos asteroid is visible separately from its parent body, Didymos. The image was taken from 795 miles (1,280 kilometers) away, with the pair about 122 million miles (197 million km) from Earth. This is an observed mission result, not a projection.
Why it matters
The image confirms Hera can resolve the two bodies of the binary system as it closes in, after the 2022 DART impact changed Dimorphos's orbit. Separating the pair this clearly is a prerequisite for the close-range measurements the mission was built to make.
The initial image resolves Dimorphos, a 495-foot (151-meter) asteroid, to roughly a single pixel at 795 miles, so the separation is an early detection rather than a detailed view. The image is an early-approach observation; the scale and shape of the asteroid will only be measured once closer imaging is released, and that data is not yet available.
The players
European Space Agency (ESA)
Europe's space agency, which runs the Hera mission to study the Didymos binary asteroid system.
SpaceX
Private launch company whose Falcon 9 rocket carried Hera into space in October 2024.
NASA
U.S. space agency whose DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos in September 2022, altering its orbit.
The details
Hera is a European Space Agency mission that launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in October 2024 and carries 12 scientific payloads plus a pair of cubesats. Its target is the Didymos binary system: a larger body with a smaller moon, Dimorphos, that orbits it. To reach the system, Hera performed braking maneuvers earlier in October to slow its approach and set up a rendezvous, and the October 18 image was taken during that approach.
Timeline
September 2022: NASA's DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos and altered its orbit.
October 2024: Hera launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Earlier in October 2026: Hera performed braking maneuvers toward the binary system.
October 18, 2026: Hera captured the image separating Dimorphos from Didymos.
November 25, 2026: First detailed Dimorphos images are scheduled for release.
The Tech Race
The DART impact in September 2022 was the first test of deliberately changing an asteroid's orbit, and Hera is the follow-up that will measure the result up close. Its October 18 image shows the mission is now resolving the two bodies as it approaches, the step needed before the detailed post-impact survey can begin.
The image is a mission milestone rather than something readers can use, and no product or public-facing service changes as a result. The practical effect is scientific: the detailed Dimorphos data expected on November 25 will be the first hard evidence of how much the 2022 impact changed the asteroid.
The takeaway
The Hera image shows the mission can resolve the Didymos pair as it approaches, which sets up the close-range measurements of the DART impact aftermath. Watch for the first detailed Dimorphos images scheduled for November 25, 2026, the first direct look at the asteroid's post-impact shape and surface.
What happens next
The first detailed images of Dimorphos are scheduled for release on November 25, 2026, which will show the asteroid's surface and shape for the first time at close range.
Further reading
For the wider context on planetary defense and near-Earth objects, explore the Space section.
