ESA’s Hera spacecraft can now distinguish its two asteroid targets instead of seeing one point of light. In an October 27, 2026 update, the agency released the mission’s first image resolving Didymos and its smaller companion, Dimorphos, separately.
Two points, not yet two detailed worlds
The monochrome Asteroid Framing Camera observation was taken from about 1,280 kilometres away. Dimorphos occupies roughly one pixel: the milestone establishes separation, not a close-up view of its surface.
The image follows braking manoeuvres that reduced Hera’s speed relative to the pair to about 20 metres per second. ESA says increasingly detailed views will follow as the spacecraft approaches, with detailed Dimorphos imagery planned for November 25.
The unanswered questions after DART
NASA’s DART struck Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, shortening its orbital period by roughly 33 minutes. Hera’s task is to investigate what happened to the asteroid itself.
Did the impact excavate a crater or reshape the body? How do its mass, structure and composition explain the deflection? The first separated image does not answer those questions; it marks progress toward the close-range measurements needed to do so.
Featured image: Hera’s actual camera view of the asteroid pair, released October 27, 2026. ©ESA; editorial use under ESA’s Standard Licence. This is an observation, not an artist’s impression.
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