Portugal news - ESA's first planetary defence mission, the Hera mission, would not have been possible without Portuguese technology, according to Portugal Space.
The Hera space probe, that will study in detail the asteroid Dimorphos, was the first body in the Solar System whose orbit was altered by human activity. Its orbit was altered in 2022 by the impact of a probe launched by the US space agency (NASA), as part of the DART mission.
The Hera probe will gather data on Dimorphos that will prove that changing the trajectory of a body such as an asteroid is a reliable planetary defense technique. If all goes well, the Hera probe will fly past Mars in March next year and reach the asteroid more than 177 million kilometers from Earth in December 2026.
ESA's first planetary defence mission includes technology developed by Portuguese companies Tekever, GMV, FHP and Efacec. The technology includes operational components such as an instrument with laser technology capable of measuring distances of up to 20 kilometres, the thermal insulation, the probe's navigation system and an innovative communication system between satellites.
The Hera mission is only possible thanks to the ISL system developed by Portuguese company Tekever: “The innovative configuration of the Hera mission, with two smaller satellites responding to a main satellite, is only possible with an ISL that allows them to communicate with each other” and TEKEVER’s GAMALINK is an “enabling technology for this type of mission”, explained Pedro Rodrigues, Commercial Development Director at TEKEVER Space.
Portuguese space tech company GMV was responsible for developing the Hera mission’s autonomous Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system, which allows the probe to approach the asteroid Dimorphos to within 1 kilometre.
“Developing a GNC system for asteroids is a huge challenge – not only technological, but also human,” explained Francisco Cabral, technical leader of GMV’s Attitude and Orbit Control Systems (AOCS) in Portugal.
The Hera mission would not have been possible without effective thermal protection, and that was exactly what Portuguese space company FHP contributed to the mission. The company supplied the multilayer thermal protection (MLI) for the probe, which was essential for its performance throughout the mission, as it protects the probe from the extreme temperatures of space and ensures correct operations throughout the mission.
“The thermal protection covers practically all of the external, and some internal, elements of the probe, so its good performance is essential for the good performance of the probe,” said Miguel Santos, from FHP.
He highlighted that this contract strengthened the company’s ties with OHB, the main contractor, with whom they have “been collaborating for over a decade”, and also had “the opportunity to work directly with ESA on a planetary defence mission, which is therefore of relevance to Humanity”.
Portuguese participation was possible after Portugal signed the mission envelope at the ESA Space19+ Ministerial Summit and at the 2022 Ministerial Summit.
“Portugal's participation in the mission demonstrates the capacity and talent of our ecosystem to contribute cutting-edge technologies to this type of space security projects”, stated Inês d'Ávila, space security program manager at the Portuguese Space Agency.
The Hera mission is an example of how international collaboration and Portuguese technology are preparing humanity to respond to potential space threats, paving the way for a new era of space security.