Small-body mission · ESA (concept study)

Don Quijote (concept)

An early-2000s ESA planetary-defense concept — a two-spacecraft study in which an impactor (Hidalgo) would strike an asteroid while an orbiter (Sancho) measured the deflection. It was never built, but it prefigured the AIDA/DART–Hera approach.

Concept / proposedImpactor Mission

Imagery

Don Quijote (concept) — Don Quijote Akita 20111208 — Don Quijote Akita 20111208
ドン．キホーテ秋田店（秋田市旭北錦町、中交ホリディスクエア内）。秋田中央交通長崎屋バスターミナルも同居する。
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Targets & sample

Also:A near-Earth asteroid (candidate targets only)

Mission & science

Goals: Study how to demonstrate asteroid deflection with a kinetic impactor and a companion observer.
Outcome: A concept study; not developed.
Known limitations: Never built or flown; a design study only.

Knowledge connections

Member of groupImpactor Mission

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.