Europe's Hera spacecraft begins close inspections of an asteroid rammed by NASA in a 2022 test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A European spacecraft has begun close inspections of an asteroid rammed by NASA four years ago in a planetary defense test.The European Space Agency announced Wednesday that the Hera spacecraft is now studying Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos from just 15 miles to 18 miles (25 kilometers to 30 kilometers) away.NASA’s Dart spacecraft deliberately slammed into little Dimorphos in 2022 to see whether such a defensive move might help save Earth from a killer space rock one day.The impact shortened the moonlet's orbit around Didymos. More importantly, it nudged the moonlet into a slightly different path around the sun.Next month, the small car-sized Hera, launched in 2024, will venture even closer — just 12 miles (20 kilometers) away.ESA officials consider this a "crash site investigation" worthy of its finest robotic detective. Hera is carrying 25 science instruments as well as a pair of shoebox-sized Cubesats to survey Dimorphos even more closely and attempt t