Europes spacetech elite are making their final preparations for a groundbreaking meeting with an asteroid.
A spacecraft called Hera named after the Greek goddess of marriage will make the rendezvous.
The probe is slated for launch onOctober 7.
Back in 2022, the agencys DART spacecraft deliberately smashed into Dimorphos.
The collision contributed to a test of humanitys planetary defences.
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Hera will measure the impact of DARTs strike.
The probe will analyse shifts in the asteroids momentum and changes to its composition.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is leading the mission.
But much of the tech onboard the probe has been built by startups.
A public-private mission
A stellar set of28 startups and SMEshave worked on Hera.
Among them is Finlands Kuva Space, which applies a technique called hyperspectral imaging to analyse wavelengths of light.
By capturing this data, the company can unravel new insights about scanned objects.
Hera will deploy the CubeSats to gather data on Dimorphos.
Kuva has also contributed to the probes hyperspectral camera, which ESA will use to scan the asteroid.
The mission provides a chance to fine-tuneKuvas hyperspectral business plan.
Tikka also wants to explore another business idea: mining asteroids.
The business case for asteroid mining
Asteroids contain a diverse array of valuable materials.
Hyperspectral imagery could help find and extract them.
It might be a bit in the future still, Tikka says with a smile.
Kuva will now head to Cape Canaveral, Florida for Heras launch.
Falcon 9 has been grounded since an upper-stage anomaly during a launch on September 28.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
