Europäische Weltraummission zur Untersuchung der Einschlagstelle eines Asteroiden der NASA

Hera is due to launch on Monday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 10.52am local time (3.52pm BST). All being well, the probe will swoop past Mars in March next year and reach the asteroid more than 110m miles (177m km) from Earth in December 2026.

“It’s a series of breathtaking moments,” Paolo Martino, the lead engineer and deputy project manager said of the mission from ESA’s base in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. “The first one is surviving the launch.”