The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration involves two independent spacecraft being sent to binary asteroid system, Didymos. AIDA will provide fundamental new information on asteroid impact cratering, which has implications for planetary defence, human spaceflight, and near-Earth object science and resource utilisation.
In 2022 NASA's DART spacecraft will approach the asteroid system and crash straight into the smaller of the two (the 'moon'). ESA's Hera spacecraft will arrive later to measure the consequences of DART’s impact. Hera will pay a crucial role in providing a detailed, clear-eyed post mortem of the impacted asteroid and its crater.
DART and Hera are self-standing; each mission on its own will provide valuable knowledge. However, when combined, this knowledge will be multiplied considerably.