ESA · Space

Name ESA's Hera Asteroid Mission Dinosaur Mascot

The European Space Agency's Hera mission, focused on planetary defense, is seeking a name for its dinosaur mascot. The mascot, featured in mission animations and on spacecraft components, symbolizes the extinction of dinosaurs by an asteroid impact and humanity's current ability to address such threats.

The Hera mission will investigate the Dimorphos asteroid, which was previously impacted by NASA's DART spacecraft. Hera aims to study the impact site to understand how kinetic impacts can be used as a planetary defense technique against potential asteroid threats.

The dinosaur mascot was conceived by the Science Office company in Portugal, creators of the mission's animated series. The idea arose from a scene depicting dinosaurs advocating for planetary defense, leading to the concept of Hera having a dinosaur companion.

The contest is open to citizens of ESA Member, Participating, and Associate States, with submissions accepted until Friday, October 23rd. The winner, chosen by a Hera team jury, will be invited to an event in Berlin on November 25th to view the first images from the mission upon its arrival at the asteroids.

AI-samenvatting op basis van de bron.