JAXA - Hayabusa2 Mission patch.
September 27, 2018
JAXA operated Hayabusa2 to separate and send its onboard rovers MINERVA-II1 to the surface of the target asteroid Ryugu.
MINERVA-II1, the collective name of Rovers-1A and –B, have landed on Ryugu. Both rovers are in good health, commencing the survey of the asteroid's surface.
Following MINERVA-II1 deployment, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft returned to its home position altitude, approximately 20 kilometers above the center of the asteroid at 3 p.m. in Japan time, September 22, 2018. The status of Hayabusa2 is nominal as well.
Images photographed by MINERVA-II1 (Images credit: JAXA)
Image above: Image captured by Rover-1B on September 21 at around 13:07 JST. This color image was taken immediately after separation from the spacecraft. The surface of Ryugu is in the lower right. The coloured blur in the top left is due to the reflection of sunlight when the image was taken.
Image above: mage captured by Rover-1A on September 22 at around 11:44 JST. Color image captured while moving (during a hop) on the surface of Ryugu. The left-half of the image is the asteroid surface. The bright white region is due to sunlight.
On 21 September 2018, 180 million miles from Earth, a roughly 1.5 square-metre cube descended towards a primitive space rock. After years of planning and 4 years in flight, this tiny spacecraft captured this ‘shadow selfie’ as it closed in on asteroid Ryugu, just 80 metres from the remnant of our Solar System’s formation, 4.6 billion years ago.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft is operated by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), supported in part by ESA's Estrack Malargüe deep-space tracking station. The spacecraft carries four small landers that will investigate the asteroid’s surface, all four designed to gently fall onto the surface of the rocky boulder, taking advantage of its low gravity environment.
Around the time this remarkable picture was taken, the spacecraft released its two MINERVA-II1 rovers which have since successfully landed and demonstrated an ability to hop around this rock-strewn body.
A shadowy selfie taken 180 million miles away
"I cannot find words to express how happy I am that we were able to realize mobile exploration on the surface of an asteroid" enthused Yuichi Tsuda, Hayabusa2 Project Project Manager, "I am proud that Hayabusa2 was able to contribute to the creation of this technology for a new method of space exploration by surface movement on small bodies."
The next stage will see the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) lander released onto the asteroid’s surface. Developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in cooperation with the French Space Agency (CNES) MASCOT has enough power for a 12-hour mission, in which it will analyse the asteroid’s surface at two different sites.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft itself will collect three samples from Ryugu, bringing them back to Earth in December 2020. These strange specimens will provide insights into the composition of this carbonaceous asteroid — a type of space rock expected to preserve some of the most pristine materials in the Solar System.
Image above: This artist's rendering depicts Japan's Hayabusa2 probe reaching the asteroid Ryugu, thought to contain organic matter from the dawn of the solar system. (Image courtesy of JAXA).
As well as hopefully shining light on the origin and evolution of the inner planets, and the sources of water and organic compounds on Earth, this knowledge should help in efforts to protect our planet from marauding masses that come too close for comfort to our home planet.
Understanding the composition and characteristics of near-Earth objects is vital to defending ourselves from them, if one were to head in our direction. ESA’s proposed Hera mission to test asteroid deflection is an ambitious example of how we can get to know these ancient bodies better, all in the name of planetary defence.
Related link:
JAXA website on Hayabusa2 Project: http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/
Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2": http://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/hayabusa2/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/National Research and Development Agency/European Space Agency (ESA).
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