"Asteroid Exploration Leads NASA" … First Successful Landing of Asteroid Worlds Robots



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Makoto Yoshikawa, Project Manager JAXA Manner of the Hayabusa 2 Asteroid Probe. [사진 JAXA]

Makoto Yoshikawa, Project Manager JAXA Manner of the Hayabusa 2 Asteroid Probe. [사진 JAXA]

3.2 billion kilometers.

This is the distance traveled by the Hayabusa 2 probe from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the Ryugu asteroid. Hayabusa 2 flew three and a half years and approached Ryugu in June of this year. In September, Hayabusa 2 dropped the ground exploration robots Minerva Ⅱ 1A, 1B Rover. Asteroid crawlers have landed for the first time in the world. Makoto Yoshikawa (66, photo) is JAXA Hayabusa's project manager. I interviewed him on the 27th.

The role of the Hayabusa 2 project is.

"About 300 scientists and engineers have been involved in the project, scientists from various countries, including Korea, work together, and I am responsible for coordinating their work, which is the role of project manager and manager."

When did this project start?

"It was 2006. It took eight years between preparation and launch, and looking back, all the moments were fun."

It took more than three years between the launch and the arrival of the asteroid. When was the most heartbreaking moment?

"Hayabusa 2 was Ryugu's approaching process, the process of releasing the exploration robot was the most difficult and I waited for the result." (Hayabusa 2 went down to 60m above Liu to lower the crawler.) Asteroids are less attractive than the Earth and even small errors can cause the project to fail.

Ryugu is an asteroid 900 m in diameter, which looks like an abacus. Hayabusa 2 will sample asteroid samples and return to Earth by the end of 2020. Asteroids probably have rocks revealing the birth of the solar system and the origin of life.

There are a lot of asteroids in the solar system. Is there a reason to choose Ryuugo among these?

"At the beginning of the project, we looked at more than 20 asteroids, including Ryugu, and Ryugu's choice is based on the consideration that Hayabusa 2 will return to Earth.The project was to bring the asteroid samples to Earth, and that was the most appropriate. "

What is the most difficult task of the remaining process of Hayabusa 2's return to Earth?

"Hayabusa 2 is the process of sampling asteroid samples.The first attempt will be made to obtain samples at the end of January or early February of next year.C & # 39; is the key point of this project. (Hayabusa 2 approaches 500 m above Liu and plans to build an artificial crater by throwing a 4.5 kg bullet into an asteroid, which could damage the probe.)

Starting with Hayabusa 1, who returned to Earth in 2010, asteroid exploration has attracted worldwide attention. NASA has also launched an asteroid probe, OSIRIS-REX, in 2016. Osiris-Rex is now close to the asteroid Benoit.

There is also an badessment that JAXA is ahead of NASA in asteroid exploration.

"NASA has a larger organization than JAXA, here the organizational power can not be compared to JAXA, but I think JAXA technology can progress in specialized areas such as asteroid exploration. "

Where does the JAXA force come from?

"Basic research, technology will eventually change based on the strength of the base, and the Hayabusa project is also based on such fundamental research."

If you advise Korea as an expert in exploration.

"I encourage you to challenge the exploration of asteroids." Asteroid exploration is composed of various technologies such as launchers, communications and aviation. the technology can be improved in different ways, and JAXA has done the same. "

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