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The new image of Hayabusa-2 in Ryugu revealed landing marks on the surface of the asteroid. (Photo credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, Aizu University, AIST)
The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 has just taken a new photo of Ryugu and reveals dark landing marks on the bumpy surface of the asteroid.
On Friday, Hayabusa-2 managed to hit Ryugu's surface, "fired a shot" into the asteroid's soil and collected dust samples to bring them back to Earth. These contact points resembling ink, spotted on a photo taken The onboard camera ONC_W1 could have been caused by debris raised by the thrusters of Hayabusa-2 or by l & # 39; Horn-shaped appendix that pierced the asteroid, reported the BBC.
This is an image captured just after # haya2_TD! It was taken with the ONC-W1 wide angle onboard camera and shows Hayabusa2's shadow and an area of the surface that appears to have been discolored by touchdown. https://t.co/PEE6wfjDHE pic.twitter.com/UQoTNIQgIh
– HAYABUSA2 @ JAXA (@ haya2e_jaxa) February 25, 2019
On Friday, Hayabusa-2 approached Ryugu with the appendix, stabbed a five-gram metal tantalum "bullet" into the asteroid and collected particles resulting in rapid impact. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which oversaw the Hayabusa-2 mission, hopes that the sampler's cone has captured between 10 and 100 milligrams of dust that will be returned to Earth in two years. With these samples, scientists can learn more about Ryugu and the appearance of the solar system in its infancy.
Although JAXA is unsure of the number of samples collected, the Hayabusa-2 photo confirms that the landing operation went well. Before the big day, Hayabusa-2 had dropped a "target marker" on Ryugu's surface. This small marker was used to guide the probe into the correct sample collection site. In contrast to previous images of the touchdown zone, this photo shows some discoloration, indicating that the Hayabusa-2 was close to its intended touchdown target.
Hayabusa-2, who will spend more time near Ryugu until later this year, is expected to return to Earth with dust samples by the end of 2020.
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