A €129.4 million contract covering the detailed design, manufacturing and testing of Hera, the Agency’s first mission for planetary defence was signed on 15 September 2020 by Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality (left), and Marco Fuchs, CEO of Germany space company OHB (right), prime contractor of the Hera consortium. The signing took place at ESA’s ESOC centre in Germany, which will serve as mission control for the 2024-launched Hera.