PARIS (The Thursday Times) — Europe ka Hera khalai jahaz ab Dimorphos ko dekh sakta hai, woh chhota asteroid jis se NASA ne 2022 mein jaan boojh kar aik probe takra diya tha, jab woh yeh jaanne ke liye qareeb pahunch raha hai ke us takrao ne kya kiya.
Hera ne yeh tasweer 18 October ko asteroid aur us ke bare saathi Didymos se taqreeban 1,280km ke fasle se li, us waqt yeh jora zameen se taqreeban 19 crore 70 lakh km door tha.
"Is tasweer ke saath chhota asteroid Dimorphos pehli baar nazar aane laga hai," European Space Agency mein Hera project scientist Michael Kueppers ne kaha. "Is tasweer ke hasool se pehle khalai jahaz Didymos nizam ko ab bhi aik hi nuqte ke taur par dekh raha tha." Unhon ne kaha ke Dimorphos tasweer mein sirf taqreeban aik pixel hai, lekin woh apne bare saathi se saaf alag hai.
NASA ka DART khalai jahaz September 2022 mein Dimorphos se takra gaya aur us ka madar badal diya, jo is baat ka pehla haqeeqi imtihan tha ke kya insan kisi khatarnak asteroid ko us ke raste se hata sakte hain. October 2024 mein chhora janay wala Hera nuqsan ka jaiza lene aur theek theek yeh dikhane ke liye hai ke yeh tajruba kitna kamyab raha, jis se agar kabhi koi khatarnak asteroid daryaft hua toh mansooba bandi mein madad milegi.
Is jahaz ne October ke aaghaz mein apni raftar kam karne ke liye braking manoeuvres kiye taake us ka qareeb aana sust ho. Is mein 12 instruments aur do chhote satellites hain jo qareeb se jaiza lene ke liye hain, aur jo aakhir kaar Dimorphos par, jo taqreeban 151 meter chauri chattan hai, utarne ki koshish karenge.
Hera abhi bhi qareeb aane ke marhale mein hai, aur is maheene mein aage mazeed pesh raft hogi.
