Japan succeeds two small rovers on Ryugu asteroid

Concept of the artist of Hayabusa 2 approaching the asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3). Image credit: JAXA

Japan managed to put two small robotic vehicles on the asteroid Ryugu. The tiny body is currently some 300 million kilometers from Earth. The duo came out of Japan Hayabusa 2 a spaceship orbiting the asteroid on Friday, September 21 and a confirmation of the successful landing came a day later.

Color image captured by Rover-1A on September 22, 2018, moving (during a jump) to the surface of the Ryugu asteroid. Photo credit: JAXA

The two tiny rovers, designated Rover-1A and Rover-1B, are part of the second MIcro Nano experimental asteroid vehicle project (MINERVA-II). They were deployed from Hayabusa 2 MINERVA-II-1 container at approximately 0:06 EDT, September 21 at an elevation of approximately 180 feet (55 meters) above Ryugu.

Saturday, Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that they landed on the surface of the asteroid and transmit data. The agency also released the first images captured by the rovers during the landing.

The achievement marks the first time that rovers capable of maneuvering on the surface of a body, especially one as small as Ryugu, have been successfully placed on an asteroid.

"I can not find words to express how happy I am to have been able to do a mobile exploration on the surface of an asteroid. I am proud that Hayabusa 2 has been able to contribute to the creation of this technology for a new method of space exploration by surface movement on small bodies, "said Yuichi Tsuda, head of Hayabusa project 2.

Due to the gravitational pull of the asteroid, the rovers slowly descended to the surface as they could float in space if they did not hit hard. After landing, small robotic explorers began to jump and float to collect images and data.

The two cylinder-shaped rovers are about 18 cm in diameter, 7 cm high and weigh about 2.42 lbs. (1.1 kg) each. Rover-1A is equipped with four cameras, while Rover-1B has three cameras.

MINERVA-II is the successor of the MINERVA mobile installed in the Hayabusa Spacecraft that landed on the Itokawa asteroid in November 2005 and returned a sample to Earth. Although Hayabusa managed to land on the asteroid, MINERVA failed to reach the surface.

"I was so excited to see these little rovers successfully explore an area of ​​asteroids, as we could not do it at the time of Hayabusa 13 years ago. I was particularly impressed by the images taken very closely on the surface of the asteroid, "said Makoto Yoshikawa, project manager for the Hayabusa 2 project.

Weighing about 0.6 metric ton, the Hayabusa 2 A spacecraft was launched on December 3, 2014 by JAXA with the goal of exploring Ryugu, recovering materials from them and bringing them to Earth. He arrived in Ryugu on June 27, 2018 and is expected to leave the asteroid in December of next year (2019) in order to return home the following year.

Ryugu in a potentially dangerous asteroid (PHA) Apollo type, with a diameter of about 1 kilometer. The study of this asteroid could be important for planetary researchers because it could contain organic matter and water.

If everything goes as planned, Hayabusa 2 will also deploy the MASCOT lander (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout) developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) on 3, 2018 and Rover-2 in 2019, whose size and design are similar to those of the rovers duo already present .

Tagged: asteroids Hayabusa 2 Japan Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA lead tales Ryugu Urgent

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Tomasz Nowakowski

Tomasz Nowakowski is the owner of Astro Watch, one of the first blogs on astronomy and science on the Internet. Nowakowski has contacted SpaceFlight Insider to have the two space-related websites collaborate. The generous offer of Nowakowski has been gratefully received by both organizations who are now working to better relay important developments in space exploration.