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Welcome to Ryugu: an asteroid entirely populated by robots.
On October 3, the Japanese Space Agency's (JAXA) spacecraft spacecraft Hayabusa-2 was positioned just 51 meters from the surface of the small asteroid Ryugu and deployed the MASCOT lander (for Mobile Asteroid). Surface Scout), which then landed on the surface successfully 20 minutes later.
Unlike the two previous undercarriages – MINERVA-II1 A and B, which were mostly technology test benches to see how to move in an extremely low density environment – MASCOT is equipped with four scientific instruments to study the asteroid. Unfortunately, these instruments require more power than solar panels could provide, so MASCOT has a single-use battery that keeps it alive for 16 hours. So, he's already off, he's sleeping on the surface where he'll probably stay for a long time.
The data he received was sent back to Earth and JAXA scientists are already looking into it. And of course, some really interesting and interesting images were returned by MASCOT and the mothership during the deployment.
This image was taken by MASCOT shortly after deployment; the surface of the asteroid fills the scene. If you look at the top right, you can see the shadow of MASCOT itself!
The picture seems funny to me, as if it were filled with craters. Do you see it this way too, including the big left?
These are not craters. These are rocks. If you see them as depressions, you suffer from the illusion of crater, where the direction of illumination (in this case, from below) can make craters appear in the form of hills and vice versa. Here is the image rotated at 180 °:
Aha! Now you can see that the big dark spot on the left (and now on the right) is actually the shadow of the overhang of a rock, and that all the other dimples are actually small rocks.
This image taken by Hayabusa-2 is pretty cool too:
On the left you can see the shadow of the probe and even distinguish the individual solar panels. The zoom shows it in more detail and you can even see MASCOT and its shadow! I was amazed to see that there are some details about MASCOT: The bright spot looks like a circular antenna, surrounded by the body of the undercarriage.
Here is an animation in three images (each occupied ten seconds apart) of Hayabusa-2 right after its deployment, showing MASCOT moving in space through the asteroid below. MASCOT has dropped a little, which gives you a perspective on its shape. It's small, about 30 x 30 x 20 cm – think of it as four medium sized pizza boxes stacked and you'll be very close.
MASCOT is equipped with a camera (obviously, since you've seen a few pictures here), an infrared spectrometer called MicrOmega that will help determine the minerals present on the surface, a magnetometer called MAG for measure the magnetic field of the asteroid (if there is one). ), and a thermal radiometer called MARA to measure surface temperatures.
MASCOT was not a real rover like the MINERVA twins. It has what is called a "swivel arm", a single-use lever that can manipulate the undercarriage in a better position in case it does not land optimally. And in fact, it was used once MASCOT hit the ground, allowing it to get the data it needs.
All of this MASCOT data will help scientists understand strange little asteroids like Ryugu. It's a pile of rubble, like a bag of rocks held together by its own gravity. This will be the case for most small rock asteroids, if not most, so Ryugu will look like a Rosetta stone for them. For example: Ryugu is diamond-shaped, like two squat cones glued from the base to the base and about one kilometer wide. It has a very low gravity and rotates every 7.5 hours, which explains the shape. The rocks on the surface can move easily under the effect of external forces due to low gravity, and the rotation gives the impression that the equator is descending; so they tend to drive in that direction. In the end, you get a bulging waist and pointed ends, which we see.
However, the effects of Ryugu are not as fast as those of other small piles of rubble. Will they be even more flattering? We must first understand why Ryugu is what he is, what he is doing, how the environment looks like, and then explore more of these little guys.
And remember, the Hayabusa-2 mission is far from over. Another rover (MINERVA-II2) will be deployed in 2019 and, even before, the main spacecraft itself will join Ryugu in October 2018 and February 2019 to collect surface samples of the asteroid. In April, he will send a high-speed impactor to Ryugu to also obtain underground samples. All will be gathered and returned to Earth at the end of 2020.
And do not forget OSIRIS-REx, a NASA mission to the asteroid Bennu! It is about 130 000 km from the rock 500 meters wide and will join in December.
There is a lot of science of asteroids coming, guys. Say you listen. It's gonna be fun.
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