Search Results for “2025” – Hera-JAPAN Project

2025-04-162025-04-18Research

Hera, Apophis T-4, and RAMSES in Tokyo 2025

An international conference on exploration and science related to planetary defense was held at the University of Tokyo from 7 to 11 April 2025. Following the Hera Community Meeting (7-8th), the Apophis T-4 Meeting (9-10th) and the RAMSES Community Meeting (11th) were held, where the latest developments in space science were discussed. https://www.hera-apophis-ramses-tokyo.org/en-us/ Participants at the Hera Community Meeting shared an overview of the latest status and operations of Hera and the status and observation results of its payloads following its Mars swing-by operation in March 2025. Additionally, payload updates such as AFC, HyperScout-H, TIRI, Milani CubeSat, and Juventas CubeSat were shared. Dr. Okada reported on the results of TIRI’s observations of Deimos and Mars during the Mars swing-by operation […]

2026-11-062026-11-06Operations

First Thermal Imaging of a Binary Asteroid System

The Hera mission to the binary asteroid system, led by the European Space Agency (ESA) and carrying the Thermal Infrared Imager (TIRI) developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on October 7, 2024 (JST).1 Following launch, Hera conducted observations of the Earth-Moon system,2 and performed a Mars flyby together with observations of Mars and its moon Deimos in March 2025,3 while continuing its journey toward the binary asteroid system consisting of Didymos and Dimorphos. Beginning in October 2026, Hera executed a series of braking maneuvers and arrived at the binary asteroid system on November 4, 2026 (JST).4 For details of Hera’s upcoming observation and mission operations plan, please refer to this article.5 […]

2025-03-142025-03-14Operations

Hera completes a Mars swing-by !

On March 12, 2025, Hera performed a Mars swing-by that utilized the planet’s gravity to insert the spacecraft onto a trajectory towards the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system. Hera made its closest approach to Mars at 21:50 JST on March 12. ESA has confirmed that the spacecraft condition is normal and that the Hera spacecraft has been successfully inserted onto the intended trajectory. During the closest approach to Mars, the Hera spacecraft conducted observations of Mars and the Martian moon, Deimos, followed by the second Martian moon, Phobos, using three onboard cameras: the TIRI provided by JAXA, the visible light camera (Asteroid Framing Camera: AFC), and the visible and near-infrared spectroscopic camera (HyperScout-H). Here, we take a look at the images […]

Research publications

Research publications FY2025 Kenji Kurosaki, Masahiko Arakawa, Numerical simulation of impact cratering and induced seismic waves in sand targets, Icarus, Volume 446, 116874, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116874, March 2026. Kenji Kurosaki, Kousuke Kurosawa, Masahiko Arakawa, Ejection angles during hypervelocity impacts on flat and spherical targets investigated with shock physics modeling, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Volume 205, 105400, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2025.105400, November 2025. Tetsushi Sakurai, Takuya Ishizaki, Akiko M. Nakamura, Experimental study on thermal and mechanical properties of sintered glass materials: Implication for physical properties of primordial porous materials in the solar system, Icarus 441, 116729, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116729, November 2025. Tetsushi Sakurai, Takuya Ishizaki, Akiko M. Nakamura, Porosity, Mechanical Properties, and Thermal Conductivity of Boulders: Experimental Study using Porous Sintered Glass Particles, Appophis T-4, poster, […]

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History’s First Planetary Defense Mission Begins Binary Asteroid Exploration Program LEARN MORE What is Planetary Defense? Didymos and Dimorphos Hera’s Goals About Hera Hera is a near-Earth binary asteroid exploration project conducted by ESA (European Space Agency) in collaboration with NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) DART project, which aims to conduct the first ever full-scale space disaster prevention planetary defense technology demonstration and to gain a better understanding of the formation and evolution processes of planets. Japan’s ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science)/JAXA will participate in the project by providing a thermal infrared camera and scientific research. Learn more About TIRI TIRI is the name of JAXA’s Thermal InfraRed Imager. TIRI is an uncooled bolometer-mounted thermal infrared camera, […]

Mission

Mission Summary The Binary Asteroid Exploration Program Hera is ESA’s (European Space Agency) exploration program to rendezvous with the S-type asteroid Didymos and its satellite Dimorphos. The AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment) program is an international cooperative planetary defense program between ESA’s Hera and NASA’s DART. DART launched on November 24, 2021, and collided with the satellite Dimorphos on September 26, 2022 UTC, at a speed of about 6 km/s. The impact was filmed from the previously separated child spacecraft (See topics; DART mission accomplished! https://hera.isas.jaxa.jp/wp-hera/en/3492/), and ground observations have confirmed that the orbital period around Didymos has been significantly shortened by approximately 32 minutes. Hera launched on October 7, 2024, and will arrive in December 2026 to explore […]