A simulation of the view ESA’s Asteroid Impact Mission will see as it closes in on its targeted double asteroid system to put down a microlander on the smaller of the two bodies. br br A representative camera mounted on a robotic arm was moved relative to an actual rotating model of the Didymos binary asteroid system.This ‘in-the-loop’ testing was performed at its ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, by the Agency’s Guidance, Navigation and Control section in conjunction with its Automation and Robotics section. br br AIM is a candidate mission of opportunity currently undergoing detailed design work, ahead of a gono go decision at the end of this year. br br With a planned launch window opening in October 2020, AIM would be humanity’s first mission to a binary asteroid system, putting down a lander on the smaller asteroid of the pair and providing detailed before-and-after mapping as part of the larger Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment mission.