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This image of the Ryugu asteroid was captured by the Japanese tanker Hayabusa2 at an altitude of about 210 feet (64 meters) on September 21, 2018, just before the craft deploys two tiny rovers to the space rock. It is the highest resolution photograph obtained from Ryugu's surface to date.
Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, Aizu University, AIST
The sharpest photo of the large asteroid Ryugu shows a complex surface dotted with rocks and rubble.
The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 captured the image with its optical telescope navigation instrument at 12:04 EDT (0404 GMT) on September 21, 2018, at a height of approximately 210 feet (64 meters), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials.
This is the highest resolution photo taken at the surface of 3,000 feet (900 m) from Ryugu, added JAXA officials. [Japan’s Hayabusa2 Asteroid Ryugu Sample-Return Mission in Pictures]
Just 2 minutes after taking the picture, Hayabusa2 deployed two tiny rovers called MINERVA-II1A and MINERVA-II1B to Ryugu. The small robots have landed their landings in a historical first and are currently exploring the space rock, collecting a variety of data. (Several other spaceships landed gently on an asteroid, but none was deployed from a mothership like Hayabusa2.)
Another landing will take place next week, if everything goes as planned. On 3 October, Hayabusa2 is expected to deploy a shoebox-sized undercarriage, called MASCOT, which was built by the German space agency DLR, in collaboration with the French space agency CNES.
Like MINERVA-II1A and MINERVA-II1B, MASCOT will move by hopping rather than rolling, which is a good thing considering the roughness of Ryugu's surface and the low gravity of the asteroid, which which makes the traditional roving unstable. Wheeled vehicles were moving away from the rock as soon as they began to roll, said members of Hayabusa's team2.
The region of the highest resolution image of Hayabusa2 (in yellow), seen from a distance. Left: a global picture of Ryugu. Right: A photo taken on September 21, 2018, at a height of 230 feet (70 meters).
Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, Aizu University, AIST
The $ 150 million Hayabusa2 mission was launched in December 2014 and orbited around Ryugu at the end of June this year. The orbiter also carries another bantam hopper called MINERVA-II2, an "optional" mobile that could be deployed next year. And the tanker will reach the surface in 2019, capturing samples that will arrive on Earth in a return capsule in December 2020.
Mission officials indicated that the different data collected at Ryugu and the returned sample analyzes should help researchers better understand the early solar system and the role that high-carbon rocks such as Ryugu have played in life.
NASA has its own mission of sampling asteroids in progress, with many of the same goals. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is expected to arrive in orbit around the near-Earth asteroid on December 31 and return samples of rock to Earth in September 2023.
And about all these acronyms: MINERVA stands for "Micro Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid"; MASCOT for "mobile asteroid surface scout"; and OSIRIS-REx for "Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security Explorer-Regolith".
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @ michaeldwall and Google+. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally posted on Space.com.
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