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Earth's first mission to a binary asteroid, for planetary defence
Planning for humankind's first mission to a binary asteroid system has entered its next engineering phase. ESA's proposed Hera mission would also be Europe's contribution to an ambitious planetary defence experiment.
Named for the Greek goddess of marriage, Hera would fly to the Didymos pair of Near-Earth asteroids: the 780 m-diameter mountain-sized main body is orbited by a 160 m moon, informally called 'Didymoon', about the same size as the Great Pyramid of Giza.
[...] By the time Hera reaches Didymos, in 2026, Didymoon will have achieved historic significance: the first object in the Solar System to have its orbit shifted by human effort in a measurable way.
A NASA mission called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, is due to collide with it in October 2022. The impact will lead to a change in the duration of Didymoon's orbit around the main body. Ground observatories all around the world will view the collision, but from a minimum distance of 11 million km away.
"Essential information will be missing following the DART impact – which is where Hera comes in," adds Ian. "Hera's close-up survey will give us the mass of Didymoon, the shape of the crater, as well as physical and dynamical properties of Didymoon.
Also at Popular Mechanics.
Previously: NASA to Redirect an Asteroid's Moon With Kinetic Impact
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday June 28 2018, @11:23PM (5 children)
It still a typo, though.
'Geminis' as dative is the closest to force into existence something like 'geminiac".
Alternately, you could use the 'to geminate'/'geminated' (large grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday June 29 2018, @12:17AM (4 children)
Genitive dual. pseudo-masculine?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 29 2018, @12:45AM (3 children)
Oh, gosh. The level of intricated derivation by syntactical application of Latin grammar rules is over my abilities in a thanks-God-is-Friday late morning following a FIFA World cup game.
Impaired as I might be, I seem to remember the Greek mother of the Latin Castores was in fact Λήδα, not Hρᾱ?
The Spartan queen with a kink for swans, does my memory serve?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday June 29 2018, @01:04AM (2 children)
Correct. Except they are also Dioscuri, or at least one of them was, which introduces the Hera-kles aspect of the wrath of Juno.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 29 2018, @01:35AM (1 child)
The plot thickens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Redundant) by aristarchus on Friday June 29 2018, @06:42AM
One iota of difference? No, just a typo, though a rather exhuberant one! But science, Hayabusa has entered orbit. ESA could do as much, maybe more! At least Runaway1941 is not commenting.