On September 26, 2022, NASA’s DART space mission successfully impacted Dimorphos, the moon of the asteroid Didymos, shortening its orbital period by 32 minutes. This extraordinary success demonstrated the effectiveness of the asteroid deflection technique, opening new perspectives for planetary defense. Asteroids, pristine remnants from the formation period of the Solar System, are also a precious source of scientific knowledge. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) HERA mission, successfully launched on October 7, 2024, will study the effects of the DART impact and analyze Didymos in detail to unveil its secrets. Building on the accomplishments of the DART mission and the anticipated contributions of the HERA mission, we explore the realm of asteroids, assessing their potential risks and their profound scientific significance. Equally, if not more, important are comets — icy bodies that provide unique insights into the early Solar System’s composition and evolutionary history. In this context, ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission, designed to rendezvous with a yet-undiscovered long-period comet or an interstellar object, promises unprecedented observations, offering a deeper understanding of these ancient celestial wanderers.