Touchdown: Hayabusa 2 deploys rovers to explore Ryugu

The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 has sent the first of a series of small missions that will explore the asteroid 162173 Ryugu.

They did it!

The intrepid Hayabusa 2 mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has deployed the first of a series of asteroid and rover landers early Friday morning September 21. at 4:06 UT / 12:06 EDT.

Built by a team from Japan's Aizu University, the MIrro-Nano experimental vehicle project for the asteroid (MINERVA II) has been deployed to the Hayabusa 2 mission, covering three and a half years from Earth to Earth. 'to the 1 kilometer in diameter) asteroid 162173 Ryugu. The MINERVA II package contains Rover 1a and Rover 1b; Another larger Rover 2 undercarriage is expected to be launched next year. Hayabusa 2 will also deploy the German Surface Scout Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) next month.

Rover 1a and Rover 1b are both small cylindrical rovers, with a diameter of 7 inches (18 centimeters), a height of 3 inches and each weigh 2.4 pounds (1 kilogram).

The JAXA engineers asked Hayabusa 2 to approach the asteroid at a distance of 60 meters (196 feet) from Ryugu's surface to deploy the first of two MINERVA II rovers from his fuselage. . The plan was to slowly lower the two vehicles through the low gravity of the asteroid until they immobilized on its surface.

After the release, the rovers were alone. There was a 24-hour period of tension on Friday, when the pair heard nothing more.

The original MINERVA I lander was transported by Hayabusa's first mission to the 25,143 Itokawa asteroid and deployed on November 12, 2005. An altimeter reading error however forced Hayabusa to release the aircraft. LG more than expected. in the space.

Rovers on the rebound

Finally, the news arrived Saturday that the rovers were in good health. We received our first photos of the duo, including an image of Ryugu's surface itself during the first "hop" of the asteroid.

"When I looked at the image of the first" jump ", I could finally achieve my dream of many years," said Takashi Kubota (JAXA) in a recent press release (translated from Japanese). "It's the real thrill of planetary exploration."

As the first asteroids circulate, the MINERVA II Rover 1a and Rover 1b jump along Ryugu's surface using the torque of the rotating masses inside their body. No mobile has thruster control to guide its movements. However, they each include a thermometer, wide angle and stereo cameras, solar panels and the ability to communicate with the main Hayabusa 2 spacecraft when they are in the line of sight.

We received unique views of the rovers during their 22 hour descent. These include images of Hayabusa 2, which appear blurry because the cameras of the rovers are fixed and can not follow the trajectory of the spacecraft in space, as well as an image of Ryugu before the camera. ;landing. Solar powered rovers could work, return images and other measurements, provided that Hayabusa 2 is nearby to transmit images and information.

The culmination of the mission, which arrived in Ryugu on June 27, is yet to come. In October, Hayabusa 2 will approach the asteroid, pull a tantalum dumpling of 5 grams to its surface and attempt to collect a sample to return it to Earth. If successful, the sample collection capsule should arrive home in December 2020.