Belgian scientists helping to defend the Earth
The Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) is taking part in the European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera mission, the aim of which is to defend the planet against possible asteroid threats.
Europe's first planetary defence mission, Hera, will enable a detailed study of the Dimorphos asteroid following the impact of NASA's DART probe in 2022.
In addition to broader scientific objectives concerning the origin and evolution of our solar system, this mission aims above all to block any asteroids that might hit the Earth in the future, and therefore avoid potential new categories of natural disaster.
In this context, the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) has joint responsibility for one of the instruments on board, known as GRASS (GRAvimeter for Small Solar system objects). This is the first instrument to directly measure gravity on the surface of an asteroid, which is a million times weaker than that on the Earth's surface.
When it lands on Dimorphos in 2027, this GRASS instrument will provide detailed information on the inner structure and dynamics of the binary asteroid system. In addition, the ROB is already helping to study and simulate the landing of the Juventas module, which will land on the asteroid with the scientific instruments. The ROB has also been assigned another responsibility, in collaboration with Belgian company VITO Remote Sensing, to develop and analyse data from the TIRI thermal imager on board the main Hera spacecraft.
Belgium's making a fine contribution to this large-scale international mission!