The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to launch its first planetary defense missionHera, however, bad weather and Storm Milton are putting the takeoff, scheduled for tomorrow from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at risk.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, in charge of taking the ship into space, could be affected by the adverse weather conditionsincluding heavy rains, high winds and possible electric shocks, according to the most recent reports, according to the EFE Agency.

Tropical Storm Milton, approaching the west coast of Florida, is expected to reach the region by the middle of next week and could intensify into a major hurricane category 3.

These circumstances have generated uncertainty around the launch of the mission, whose takeoff window extends until October 27. Although the Hera spacecraft has already been integrated into the rocket, SpaceX continues to monitor the weather to evaluate the feasibility of takeoff.

The team’s concern

Ian Canelli, director of the Hera project, expressed concern about the climate, stating that “We are prepared for takeoff, but pending the weather”. The rocket will be transferred this Sunday to the launch pad, but SpaceX will carry out various meteorological measurements until the last moment to make a decision.

Added to this meteorological uncertainty is a recent complication with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. An anomaly that occurred at last weekend’s launch during the Crew-9 manned mission forced paralyze the activities of these launchers. Although the incident did not compromise the mission, the Falcon 9’s second stage was jettisoned into the ocean outside the intended area due to abnormal combustion, prompting additional analysis by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before resuming. the operations.

The Hera mission is part of a joint planetary defense effort between ESA and NASA, framed in the AIDA (Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment) project, which seeks demonstrate the feasibility of deflecting asteroids to protect Earth from a possible impact.

This project also includes NASA’s DART mission, which in 2022 managed to alter the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos after a kinetic impact.

Planetary defense mission

Hera will travel to the Didymos binary asteroid system, composed of the 780 meter diameter main asteroid and its moon Dimorphos150 meters, to study the aftermath of the DART impact.

The objective is to collect key information to fine-tune asteroid deflection techniques. Equipped with 12 scientific instruments and accompanied by two small satellites (cubesats), Hera will arrive at its destination in autumn 2026.

Michael Küppers, project scientist, highlighted the importance of accurately measuring impact results. Among Hera’s key tasks are determining the mass of Dimorphos and analyzing the physical properties of the interior of rock bodies.

Küppers stressed the importance of being prepared to face possible threats, comparing the situation to the COVID-19 pandemic. “A pandemic does not happen frequently, but it is better to be prepared. With asteroids, even more so, since an impact from an object like Dimorphos could destroy a city.”he pointed out.

The Hera mission represents a crucial step in the development of planetary defense technologies and marks the first time that humanity has the means to alter the trajectory of an asteroid.