Discover the first images of the crater of asteroids made by a Japanese spacecraft

During the first week of April, a Japanese spacecraft projected a small crater into an asteroid more than 180 million kilometers from Earth. We finally got the first pictures of his explosive work. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, which operates the digging excavation vehicle, has released images before and after the new crater site, showing a slight imprint on the rock that was not there before.

The new crater is the product of Hayabusa2, which hangs around an asteroid named Ryugu since June 2018. Hayabusa2 is supposed to return samples of Ryugu to Earth. Until now, the spacecraft has completed part of this mission. On 21 February, the spacecraft approached Ryugu and fired a bullet-shaped projectile at the surface of the object, sending fragments of rock into the vehicle's measuring chamber.

But JAXA is also interested in taking samples deeper into Ryugu, which is why Hayabusa2 has become a bit violent with the asteroid. The mission team equipped the satellite with a bomb deployed by Hayabusa2 on 4 April. The device – a cone-shaped cartridge filled with explosives – exploded just above Ryugu's surface. The goal was to create an artificial crater exposing the interior of the asteroid, a valuable material that scientists want to study. The rocks in Ryugu have not been exposed to the space environment for billions of years, just like the rocks outside the asteroid. This means that this material is better preserved and represents the appearance of the asteroid during its formation.

During the bombing, Hayabusa2 was far from the detonation site to ensure the safety of the spacecraft. But the spacecraft deployed a mobile camera capturing the action from afar, giving the mission team an idea of ​​where the explosion occurred. Then yesterday, Hayabusa2 went looking for the site and found the crater possible.

Now, the JAXA will examine the crater Hayabusa2 and decide if the spacecraft really needs to enter and take a sample. It is possible that the task is considered too risky. But if the spacecraft is trapped, the vehicle may soon be in possession of some very intact rocks that have circulated since the advent of the solar system.