On its way to investigate the aftermath of a historic asteroid collision, a European spacecraft made a pit stop at Mars.
During its visit, it snapped rare and intriguing images of the planet’s lesser-known moon, Deimos.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) HERA mission, which aims to assess the impact of NASA’s 2022 asteroid defense test, won’t reach its destination until late 2026.
But on Wednesday, it took a clever detour, using Mars’ gravity to slingshot itself forward—saving fuel and picking up speed in the process.
During this cosmic maneuver, HERA came within 5,600 kilometers of the Martian surface, racing at a breathtaking 33,480 km/h.
600 Images Were Captured
The spacecraft seized the moment and captured 600 images, including fresh snapshots of Deimos, the smaller and more mysterious of Mars’ two moons.
“Every new image adds another piece to the puzzle,” said Marcel Popescu of the Romanian Academy’s Astronomical Institute.
As scientists continue to debate whether Deimos and its sibling, Phobos, were ancient asteroids caught by Mars’ gravity or debris from a massive planetary impact.
As for HERA, its journey is far from over.
The spacecraft is on track to reach its target, a distant asteroid 11 million kilometers away.
There, it will help determine just how effective humanity’s first planetary defense test really was.
One mission, two big discoveries. Not bad for a pit stop.
