Within the scope of ESA’s HERA mission and NASA’s DART mission

Efacec is part of the Hera space mission, the first dedicated to planetary defence in Europe, with its launch planned for 2024. ESA’s HERA mission is coordinated with NASA’s DART mission, both being part of the AIM – Asteroid Impact Mission – cooperation mission, which is aimed at the asteroid belt, located in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter.

The target of the mission is a small asteroid which, in this first phase, will be impacted by DART and in a second phase will be studied by HERA, with Efacec being responsible for the LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) altimeter, an instrument based on laser technology capable of measuring distances of up to 20 km with 10 cm accuracy, which will carry out the topographic survey of the crater created by DART’s impact on the asteroid.

“This is a major order for Efacec, the second-largest ever in over 15 years of activity in the aerospace area, only surpassed by the radiation monitor that the company is finalising for the JUICE mission and proves Efacec’ s ability to lead flight electronics hardware projects and to position itself as a tier-1 supplier, i.e., working directly with the satellite builder – in this case, OHB“, says Vasco Granadeiro, Efacec’ s director for the aerospace area.

For Nuno Silva, Chief Technology Officer of Efacec, “This is a project that makes us very proud, and, from a technological point of view, it proves our commitment to this LIDAR technology, which has grown at Efacec through two ESA projects, the first in 2011. It was the success of these two projects that allowed Efacec to gain the trust of ESA and OHB to develop the LIDAR equipment and thus put Efacec technology to flight on this mission.”

About Efacec

With a comprehensive presence in the Energy, Mobility and Environment value chain, Efacec operates as a supplier of solutions and integrated EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) systems and O&M (Operations & Maintenance) services partner.  Efacec is present in strategic markets such as Europe, the United States, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Website: https://www.efacec.pt

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/efacec