Planetary Defense – Spaceflight Now

ESA’s Hera mission progresses towards launch pending Falcon 9 readiness

October 2, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The journey to the binary asteroid system, Didymos and its moon, Dimorphos, will take place over a roughly two-year period. The launch window lasts from October 7-27.

Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November

March 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development delays partially caused by coronavirus-related work slowdowns.

NASA to proceed with asteroid surveillance mission

October 2, 2019 Stephen Clark

After years of studies, NASA plans to move forward with a space-based telescope that could launch as soon as 2025 to scan the solar system for asteroids that could be on a collision course with Earth.

Future of asteroid deflection mission to be decided soon

January 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

Decisions on the future of a joint robotic mission between NASA and the European Space Agency to demonstrate the ability to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth have been put off until later this year after European governments declined to fully fund their part of the project in December.