During ESA’s HERA mission Mars flyby on 12 March, the FaintStar2 sensor onboard the spacecraft played a crucial dual role. Developed by Caeleste and integrated into Jena Optronik’s Asteroid Framing Camera, the sensor captured detailed images of the red planet while also supporting the spacecraft’s autonomous navigation.
Over a 20-minute period, the FaintStar2 sensor provided images allowing the spacecraft’s guidance system to successfully track multiple Martian surface features, such as impact craters. Images were captured every 48 seconds, demonstrating the sensor’s high sensitivity and stability even under deep space conditions and high relative speed.
The Mars flyby also served as a gravity-assist maneuver, adjusting Hera’s trajectory toward the Didymos asteroid system and shortening the mission duration. It marked the first time the spacecraft’s full instrument suite was activated beyond Earth orbit—with FaintStar2 playing a central role in this milestone.
Source:
https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_asteroid_mission_tested_self-driving_technique_at_Mars