The moon Deimos is shrouded in Martian dust.
During its flyby of Mars, the Hera spacecraft was able to use three onboard imaging instruments to take pictures of the Martian moon Deimos, according to CNN citing an announcement from the ESA.
Since its launch on October 7, 2024, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera spacecraft has been on its way to the location of the asteroid Dimorphos to collect data.
In 2022, NASA's DART spacecraft will carry out humanity's first mission to physically interfere with Dimorphos' orbit. And the mission of the Hera spacecraft is to record new changes in the asteroid with the aim of learning more about ways to deflect asteroids for future use.
How long does it take to get to Mars?
At the time of the Martian moon image capture, the Hera spacecraft was approximately 177 km from the target Dimorphos.
The smaller moon of Mars, Deimos is 13 km in diameter, while the larger moon, Phobos, is 22.5 km in diameter. Deimos is about 24,140 km from the red planet. Previously, Earth scientists were skeptical that Deimos might be an asteroid rather than a moon.
The ESA spacecraft was about 1,000 km (620 miles) from Deimos when the images were taken. The ESA said the images will allow scientists to analyze the object's mineral composition and surface temperature. These characteristics will help scientists learn more about the Martian moon.
ESA also said the information collected will be used to plan exploration of the Martian moons in 2026.
The mission marks a collaboration between ESA, NASA, the French and German space agencies, with the aim of measuring two Martian moons and landing on Phobos to collect samples to bring back to Earth for analysis.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chup-duoc-anh-chua-tung-co-ve-mat-trang-bi-an-cua-sao-hoa-185250314094019539.htm
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