The ESA spacecraft embarked on a two-year journey to the asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos on Monday.

The news was a relief for Fitzsimmons and the entire Hera team.

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission will investigate an asteroid that NASA deliberately struck with another spacecraft in a previous test of humanity’s planetary defense readiness.

SpaceX will launch Europe's Hera spacecraft on Monday (Oct. 7) toward the asteroid Dimorphos for a post-impact evaluation, and you can watch the liftoff live.

SpaceX launched the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft on Monday to see a test NASA performed in 2022 to knock the moonlet off its orbit from an asteroid actually worked.

In humanity’s latest bid to avoid going the way of the dinosaurs, a European spacecraft soared away from the coast of Florida on Monday. The mission, Hera, will visit an asteroid that NASA deliberately struck with another spacecraft two years ago.