Hera's Mini-Radar Unveils Secrets of Asteroid's Core

The European Space Agency (ESA) has received the smallest radar to be flown in space for integration into the Juventas CubeSat, part of the Hera mission for planetary defense. The radar, called JuRa, will perform the first-ever radar imaging of an asteroid by peering deep beneath the surface of Dimorphos, a moonlet of the Didymos asteroid. The compact radar, measuring 9.5x9.5x9.5 cm, will be able to penetrate up to 100 meters within Dimorphos, providing valuable insights into its internal structure. The JuRa team is also exploring the possibility of using the radar on other asteroids in the future.