Didymos images´ simulation for 3D reconstruction within HERA project

The AIDA (Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment) mission involves DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) and Hera spacecraft. DART is led by the NASA and will impact the smaller body of Didymos, a binary asteroid. HERA [1], on the other hand, is a European project and will rendezvous Didymos in 2026 following up the impact produced in 2022 by DART. Didymos is a near-Earth binary asteroid composed by Didymain, the main asteroid, and its moon called Didymoon. Didymain has an estimated radius of 387 m and a rotation period of 2.26 hours. Didymoon, whose approximate radius is 103 m, has a circular tidally locked orbit of 1180 m around Didymain and an orbital period of 11.92 hours. The Austrian contribution to Phase B2 Part 1 of the HERA mission was carried out by JR, VRVis, and two science collaborators under GMV contract. It consisted mainly of the design of tools needed to help define optimized images of Didymos (Didymain and Didymoon) for tactical and strategic purposes as well as to determine the asteroid shape. For both purposes, the further development of PRoViP [2] and PRo3D [3], tools already available for the ExoMars mission, was required. To validate the 3D reconstruction chain, a simulation approach was designed and implemented, see Figure 1: