Hera Captures Farewell Glimpse of Earth and Moon from Space

The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft, en route to study a binary asteroid system, captured thermal images of Earth and the moon from 2.3 million miles away. These images were taken during the initial testing of Hera's Thermal Infrared Imager, provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Launched on October 7, Hera aims to reach the site of NASA's 2022 Double Asteroid Redirect Mission (DART) by 2026, where it will study the aftermath of DART's collision with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, providing insights into planetary defense strategies.