UPDATE: On Monday, October 7, 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the Hera spacecraft as part of a planetary defense mission aimed at protecting Earth from potential asteroid impacts. Aboard the spacecraft is a cutting-edge innovation: HyperScout H, a hyperspectral camera developed by cosine, to help determine the composition of the asteroid.
The HyperScout journey beyond Earth
With the HyperScout H, cosine will embark on its second asteroid mission. Our company previously contributed to JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission with the Optical Proximity Sensors (OPS) part of the optical navigation system of the MASCOT lander built by DLR, which is still on the Ryugu asteroid. In addition to these two asteroid missions, cosine has multiple HyperScout instruments orbiting Earth, delivering crucial data for a range of applications.
The spacecraft will fly to the binary asteroid system Didymos, currently located approximately 103,232,756.5 kilometers from Earth. Once launched, the Hera spacecraft will begin a two-year cruise phase. An initial deep space manoeuvre in late October 2024 will be followed by a Mars swingby in March 2025. There, HyperScout H may capture iconic images of Mars and observe the Martian moon Deimos as it passes by the red planet. A second deep space manoeuvre in February 2026 will line Hera up for arrival at the Didymos system. cosine’s hyperspectral imager will contribute to the close-up examination of the aftermath of humanity’s first asteroid deflection test on Didymos and its moonlet, Dimorphos, by determining the asteroid’s composition and helping to understand the dynamic of the impact. This effort will help turn the experiment into a well-understood and repeatable planetary defense technique.
The Hera mission
The Hera mission builds on the success of NASA’s DART mission in 2022, which tested humanity’s ability to deflect an asteroid. In that mission, a spacecraft intentionally crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, altering its orbit. Now, Hera will take the next step—closely studying Dimorphos to determine whether this planetary defense technique could be reliably used again.
Once Hera reaches Dimorphos in December 2026, the HyperScout H hyperspectral camera will play a crucial role in studying the composition of the asteroid’s soil from a distance. Hyperspectral imaging enables the analysis of the asteroid’s material in far greater detail than the human eye, which sees only three colors.
With just a few days until launch, the countdown is on for this critical planetary defense mission. Hera will travel more than 10 million kilometers to provide detailed insights into how asteroid deflection can protect Earth in the future.
HyperScout
The HyperScout line of instruments is developed by cosine and partners with support from the European Space Agency and the Netherlands Space Office.
HyperScout H is a model from cosine’s SCOUT product line, specifically adapted for the Hera mission in deep space. After two years of rigorous development and testing, everything is ready to make this mission a success.
Read all about the journey of cosine’s HyperScout H for Hera here:
- Post-DART impact: European HERA mission will return to asteroid Dimorphos with Dutch tech HyperScout H on board
- HyperScout H successfully completes key inspection point for ESA’s Hera mission
- ESA Hera asteroid mission: HyperScout H delivered and undergoing spacecraft-level testing
- Hera pre-launch press conference at cosine
About cosine
cosine is a leading worldwide company in the development of space instrumentation, such as Silicon Pore Optics for astronomy and remote sensing solutions with onboard analytics for Earth Observation and planetary science. cosine combines physics and technology to bring out-of-the-box solutions to its clients. cosine has been developing and delivering innovative measurement systems for space and industrial applications since 1998. The company operates 1,300 m² of cleanrooms and high-tech assembly facilities to build and test the systems it produces for its customers at its headquarters in Sassenheim, The Netherlands.
