A fantastic new view of the Ryugu asteroid reveals a decidedly undefined shape

The latest photo of the Ryugu asteroid, taken at a distance of only 40 km, shows for the first time surface features like rocks and craters, in addition to revealing the unique appearance of the l 39; ;object.

Remember the first photos of Rosetta Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko and how it looked like a rubber duck? We are now in a similar phase with the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 which is gradually getting closer to the Ryugu asteroid, and we are starting to get the first glimmers of what this distant object, located 280 million kilometers from Earth looks like that.

This new photo of Ryugu, taken by the ONC-W1 (Optical Navigation Camera – Wide Angle) spacecraft, reveals an object that appears to have roughly the shape of an eight-sided die – a piece Gamers that "Dungeons" and Dragons "are very familiar with." The director of the Hayabusa 2 project, Yuichi Tsuda, said that it looked like a piece of fluorite, or even a pearl. The new photo also shows craters, rocks and other geographical features, which means that project planners can begin to think about where the space probe will send its four landers.

Launched on December 3, 2014, Hayabusa 2 is now attractive and close to its target. The purpose of the mission is to collect samples of the Ryugu asteroid and then send them back to Earth for analysis. Ryugu is a C-type asteroid, containing traces of water and organic matter, and is 2,854 feet (870 meters) wide. By analyzing the materials found on this far-off rock, scientists will have a better idea of ​​what were the initial conditions at the time the Solar System was formed 4.6 billion years ago. . Hayabusa 2 should return to Earth with its samples at the end of 2020.

As Tsuda pointed out in a press release, Ryugu's surprising form is both good and bad news for the mission.

"First, the axis of rotation of the asteroid is perpendicular to the orbit," he said. "This fact increases the degrees of freedom of landing and decent operations of the rover.On the other hand, there is a peak in the vicinity of the equator and a number of large craters, which makes the selection of landing points both interesting and challenging. "

The apparently octahedral shape of Ryugu means that the direction of the gravitational force on the large areas of the asteroid will not point directly down; it is not a perfect sphere. "So we need a detailed survey of these properties to formulate our future operating plans," Tsuda said.

This last photo is great, but it is only the beginning. In addition to the ONC-W1 camera from Hayabusa 2, the undercarriages will also be able to take pictures. We are about to approach this intriguing celestial object.