Hera
Hera is ESA's flagship planetary-defence mission and the European follow-on to NASA's DART asteroid-impact experiment, launched on 7 October 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and en route to a December 2026 arrival at the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system [1][2]. With a programme cost of approximately €363 million across ESA and member-state contributions and OHB SE as industrial prime contractor, Hera is the first dedicated European deep-space mission to characterise an asteroid post-kinetic-impact and the cornerstone of the international Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration with NASA [3][4][5].
Funding & Contract Structure
Total committed: Total Hera programme cost of approximately €363 million across ESA and member-state contributions through launch and operations [3]
Per launch: OHB prime contract awarded at the November 2019 Seville Ministerial for €129.4 million; launch contract with SpaceX for Falcon 9 (cost not separately disclosed by ESA) [5][8]
Procurement vehicle: FIXED-PRICE — Contractor commits to a set price — bears overrun risk; aligns incentives on cost discipline.
Congressional status: Approved at the ESA Seville Ministerial Council on 27-28 November 2019 — funded by ESA Space Safety programme with significant Germany and Italy national contributions [5]
GAO / CRS findings
| Date | Finding |
|---|---|
| NASA DART spacecraft impacted Dimorphos on 26 September 2022, altering its orbital period around Didymos by 33 minutes — far in excess of the 73-second minimum success threshold; provided Hera with a clear post-impact target for detailed European follow-on characterisation[2] | |
| Hera launched successfully on 7 October 2024 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral SLC-40 — first dedicated European deep-space mission to fly on a SpaceX launcher[3] | |
| Hera completed Mars gravity-assist flyby on 12 March 2025; imaged the Martian moon Deimos at close range as a bonus science target en route to Didymos[6] |
Beneficiary Breakdown
| Contractor | Role | Share | Ticker |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHB SE | prime | Industrial prime contractor for Hera spacecraft; €129.4M prime contract signed at the November 2019 Seville Ministerial; spacecraft assembled at OHB System AG in Bremen, Germany[8] | OHB.DE |
| GMV | sub | Mission operations and ground segment software; planetary altimeter (PALT); Spanish privately held space-software prime[9] | private |
| Avio S.p.A. | sub | Propulsion subsystem contributions; Italian publicly listed launcher prime[10] | AVIO.MI |
| Tyvak International | sub | Milani and Juventas CubeSat companions — Italian small-spacecraft subsidiary of U.S. Terran Orbital[7] | private |
| cosine Remote Sensing | supplier | HyperScout-H hyperspectral imager — Dutch payload supplier[11] | private |
| Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung | supplier | Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC) — visible-light imaging payload; German research institute, lead investigator institution[12] | private |
| JAXA | supplier | Thermal InfraRed Imager (TIRI) — Japan's contribution to the international AIDA partnership, leveraging Hayabusa heritage[13] | private |
Key Milestones
ESA Seville Ministerial Council approves Hera under the Space Safety programme; OHB prime contract awarded for €129.4M
NASA DART spacecraft impacts Dimorphos (26 September 2022); orbital period altered by 33 minutes — successful first kinetic-impact planetary-defence test
Hera launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral (7 October 2024 at 14:52 UTC); spacecraft commissioning completed November 2024
Mars gravity-assist flyby (12 March 2025); imaged Deimos at close range as bonus science
Arrival at Didymos-Dimorphos binary system targeted; rendezvous and proximity-operations characterisation campaign begins
Direct measurement of Dimorphos mass and DART beta enhancement factor; Juventas and Milani CubeSat deployments
ESA Ministerial Council decision on Ramses follow-on planetary-defence mission targeting Apophis 2029 close approach
Catalysts
| Date | Event | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|
| Hera launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral (7 October 2024); successful spacecraft commissioning[3] | bullish | |
| Mars gravity-assist flyby (12 March 2025); bonus Deimos imaging campaign[6] | bullish | |
| Arrival at Didymos-Dimorphos binary system targeted for December 2026 (closest approach in October-December 2026); six-month characterisation campaign[1] | bullish | |
| Deployment of Juventas and Milani CubeSat companions for proximity operations and asteroid interior radar tomography[7] | bullish | |
| Direct measurement of Dimorphos mass and DART beta momentum-transfer enhancement factor — calibrates planetary-defence scaling for future asteroid threats[4] | bullish | |
| Ramses follow-on planetary-defence mission decision at next ESA Ministerial Council — targets the Apophis 2029 close approach[14] | neutral |
Risk Register
Competitive Landscape
Investability Map
| Ticker | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| OHB.DE | high | OHB SE is the Hera industrial prime contractor (€129.4M prime contract) — Hera is one of OHB's most visible deep-space institutional wins and a reference for future ESA planetary-defence procurement. |
| AIR.PA | low | Airbus Defence and Space holds some Hera subsystem workshare but is not the prime; exposure is minor relative to broader Airbus institutional space portfolio. |
| AVIO.MI | low | Avio contributed propulsion subsystem hardware; small share of Avio's launcher-focused revenue but reinforces Italian space-industrial workshare in ESA science missions. |
| LDO.MI | low | Leonardo holds 33% of Thales Alenia Space which provided ground-segment elements; indirect exposure is a small share of Leonardo's diversified defence portfolio. |
Not investment advice. Figures as-quoted from cited sources.
Sources
- [1] ESA — Hera planetary defence mission overview (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [2] NASA — DART impact on Dimorphos (26 September 2022) — 33-minute orbital period change (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [3] ESA — Hera launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral (7 October 2024) (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [4] ESA — Hera mission objectives and payload (AIDA collaboration with NASA DART) (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [5] ESA — Seville Ministerial Council 2019 approves Hera Space Safety mission (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [6] ESA — Hera Mars gravity-assist flyby (12 March 2025); Deimos imaging campaign (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [7] ESA — Juventas and Milani CubeSats: companion spacecraft to Hera (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [8] OHB SE — Hera prime contract (€129.4M) and spacecraft delivery (Official company site, accessed )
- [9] GMV — Hera ground segment and Planetary Altimeter (PALT) (Official company site, accessed )
- [10] Avio S.p.A. — Hera propulsion subsystem contributions (Official company site, accessed )
- [11] cosine Remote Sensing — HyperScout-H hyperspectral imager for Hera (Official company site, accessed )
- [12] Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung — Asteroid Framing Camera (AFC) for Hera (Official company site, accessed )
- [13] JAXA — Thermal InfraRed Imager (TIRI) contribution to Hera (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [14] ESA — Ramses follow-on planetary defence mission concept for Apophis 2029 (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [15] ESA — Planetary Defence Office and AIDA international collaboration (Agency budget doc, accessed )
- [16] SpaceNews — Hera launch and planetary defence context (GAO / CRS report, accessed )