Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA)

The Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) was a collaborative space mission designed to study how to prevent potential asteroid collisions with Earth. It involved sending two spacecraft—NASA's DART mission and ESA's Hera probe—to intentionally collide with the asteroid Dimorphos, a moonlet orbiting an asteroid called Didymos. The goal was to observe how the impact changed Dimorphos's trajectory, helping scientists understand how to best deflect hazardous asteroids in the future. This mission advances our ability to protect Earth from future asteroid threats by testing real-world deflection techniques.