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By European Space Agency
Hera asteroid mission launch kit
Everything you'd ever want to know about ESA's first planetary defence mission
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By European Space Agency
As ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence completes its pre-launch testing, its target asteroids have come into focus as tiny worldlets of their own. A special issue of Nature Communications published this week presents studies of the Didymos asteroid and its Dimorphos moon, based on the roughly five and a half minutes of close-range footage returned by NASA’s DART spacecraft before it impacted the latter body – along with post-impact images from the Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube.
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By NASA
Four dedicated explorers—Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara—just returned from a 45-day simulated journey to Mars, testing the boundaries of human endurance and teamwork within NASA’s HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Their groundbreaking work on HERA’s Campaign 7 Mission 2 contributes to NASA’s efforts to study how future astronauts may react to isolation and confinement during deep-space journeys.
NASA’s HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members outside the analog environment on June 24, 2024. From left: Piyumi Wijesekara, Shareef Al Romaithi, Jason Lee, and Stephanie Navarro. Credit: NASA/James Blair Credit: NASA/James Blair Throughout their mission, the crew conducted operational tasks and participated in 18 human health studies. These studies focused on behavioral health, team dynamics, and human-system interfaces, with seven being collaborative efforts with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the European Space Agency. These experiments assessed the crew’s physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses in conditions designed to be similar to a mission to Mars.
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew experience a simulated landing on their return home. Credit: NASA/James Blair As their mission concluded, the HERA crew watched real footage from the Artemis I mission to simulate their landing. HERA operations lead Ted Babic rang the bell outside the habitat nine times to celebrate the crew’s egress—seven for the campaign and two for the mission—saying, “All in a safe passage to Mars and a safe return to Earth. May this vessel be a safe home to future HERA crews.” Babic then presented the crew with their mission patch, which they placed on the door of the HERA habitat.
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members place their mission patch on the habitat’s airlock door after egress. Credit: NASA/James Blair The crew expressed their gratitude to everyone involved in the mission, including NASA and MBRSC, the HERA mission control center, NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) team, Analog Mission Control, medical teams, and their family and friends. Wijesekara shared, “This was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. I’d like to thank my crewmates for making this experience memorable and enjoyable.”
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston after their 45-day simulated mission to Mars. From left: Piyumi Wijesekara, Shareef Al Romaithi, Jason Lee, and Stephanie Navarro.Credit: NASA/James Blair Connecting With Students
On June 21, three days before crew egress, about 200 people gathered at Space Center Houston’s theater for a live Q&A session where students had the opportunity to share their questions with crew members Al Romaithi and Wijesekara. They discussed team dynamics, adapting to unexpected circumstances, and coping with isolation.
When asked about what prompted her to apply for the mission, Wijesekara emphasized the importance of helping NASA collect data that could help future long-duration space flights, saying, “This will be very useful when we get to the Moon with Artemis missions and even beyond that when we go to Mars.”
The HERA Campaign 7 Mission 2 crew members Piyumi Wijesekara and Shareef Al Romaithi join a groundlink Q&A with students at Space Center Houston on June 21, 2024. Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds Inside HERA, mealtimes were bonding moments where the crew shared stories, laughed, and supported each other. When a student asked about building stronger teams, Wijesekara advised, “Spend time with your crewmates, get to know them deeply, and be a good listener.”
Al Romaithi, who hails from the UAE, shared that his academic background in aerospace engineering and aviation helped him stand out in the application process. In addition, this HERA campaign is focused on cultural diversity, which opened the opportunity for him to apply through a partnership between HERA and MBRSC.
Discussing the mental effects of isolation, Al Romaithi highlighted the comfort provided by personal items, books, and board games. Wijesekara noted that the white noise of instruments running became their constant companion that her senses adjusted to over time.
Wijesekara told the audience her favorite experience was performing spacewalks and “flying drones on Mars,” via virtual reality, which allowed them to observe Martian landscapes and even lava caves. Through the habitat’s window screens, they could see simulated views of space and Martian landscapes.
The crew addressed the challenges they faced inside the analog environment, such as communication delays, which taught them teamwork, patience, and precise planning. They utilized a 3D printer aboard HERA to address equipment issues. A curious student asked what happens to the crew and the mission in case of an outside emergency, like a hurricane. Both crew members explained that HERA provided them with step-by-step emergency instructions.
Medical evaluations and nutrition-specific meal plans were crucial for the mission, Al Romaithi and Wijesekara noted, with daily monitoring of the crew’s physical and mental health. The crew also grew lettuce hydroponically and had four pet triops shrimp named Buzz, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
When a student asked what food he missed most, Al Romaithi replied, “Home-cooked meals.”
Wijesekara shared the first thing she plans to do post-mission is see her family and visit a list of restaurants with her crewmates. She also looks forward to running on the beach.
Reflecting on their experience, Al Romaithi noted, “We’ve become more disciplined and efficient in our daily activities.”
What was the most valuable lesson learned? “The importance of teamwork and communication,” he said.
Both crewmembers also gave students in the audience some advice. “Never hesitate or be shy to ask for help,” Al Romaithi said. “Always push for your biggest dreams, don’t let self-doubt slow you down, and believe in yourself.”
“And keep studying!” added Wijesekara.
Students ask HERA crew members questions at the Space Center Houston theater. Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds Students ask HERA crew members questions at the Space Center Houston theater. Credit: Space Center Houston/Jennifer Foulds View the full article
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By European Space Agency
ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection.
The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own.
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By NASA
3 min read
NASA Selects Participating Scientists to Join ESA’s Hera Mission
NASA has selected 12 participating scientists to join ESA’s (European Space Agency) Hera mission, which is scheduled to launch in October 2024. Hera will study the binary asteroid system Didymos, including the moonlet Dimorphos, which was impacted by NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft on Sept. 26, 2022. The objectives of DART and Hera collectively aim to validate the kinetic impact method as a technology to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, if one is ever discovered, and to learn more about the near-Earth asteroids that are the source of this natural hazard.
This artist’s concept shows ESA’s Hera spacecraft and its CubeSats in orbit around the Dimorphos moonlet. NASA has selected 12 participating scientists to join the Hera mission. ESA-Science Office Hera is scheduled to arrive at the Didymos/Dimorphos binary asteroid system at the end of 2026, where it will gather otherwise unobtainable data about the mass and makeup of both bodies and assess the changes caused by the DART spacecraft’s kinetic impact.
The goal of NASA’s Hera Participating Scientist Program is to support scientists at U.S. institutions to participate on the Hera mission and address outstanding questions in planetary defense and near-Earth asteroid science. The participating scientists will become Hera science team members during their 5-year tenure with the mission.
The newly selected participating scientists are:
Bonnie Buratti – NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California Ingrid Daubar – Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island Carolyn Ernst – Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Dawn Graninger – Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Mark Haynes – NASA JPL Masatoshi Hirabayashi – Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Tim Lister – Las Cumbres Observatory, Goleta, California Ryan Park – NASA JPL Andrew Rivkin – Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Daniel Scheeres – University of Colorado, Boulder Timothy Titus – U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona Yun Zhang – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor DART was the first planetary defense test mission from NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which oversees the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense. International participation in DART and Hera, including the Hera Participating Scientist Program, has been enabled by an ongoing worldwide collaboration in the planetary defense research community known as the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment.
DART was designed, built, and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which oversees the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense.
To learn more about NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense
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