Small-body mission · ESA (concept study)
AIM (concept)
ESA's Asteroid Impact Mission — the original European orbiter half of the AIDA collaboration, meant to observe the DART impact in real time. It was not funded in 2016, but its science was largely revived and reshaped as the Hera mission.
Imagery
AIM being prepared for integrated testing and flight simulation
At North Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the AIM spacecraft is moved into a clean room for testing.
2007
NASA/Kennedy · NASA media (public domain)
Targets & sample
Also:The Didymos–Dimorphos system (planned)
Mission & science
- Goals
- Observe the DART impact in situ and characterise the target before and after.
- Outcome
- Not funded in 2016; its goals were revived as Hera.
- Known limitations
- A concept that was not built; superseded by Hera.
Knowledge connections
- Member of groupOrbiter Mission
- Member of groupRendezvous Mission
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.