[ad_1]
A Japanese space probe on Friday launched a pair of exploration probes to an egg-shaped asteroid to collect mineral samples likely to shed light on the origin of the solar system.
According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the probe "Hayabusa2" threw the round shaped robots to the asteroid Ryugu.
If the mission succeeds, the rovers will lead the first robotic and moving observation of an asteroid surface.
Taking advantage of the low gravity of the asteroid, they will jump to the surface, reaching 15 meters and stay in the air for 15 minutes, to examine the physical characteristics of the asteroid using cameras and sensors.
Until then everything is fine, but the JAXA has to wait for the Hayabusa2 probe to send rovers data on the ground in a day or two to determine if the release has been successful, officials said.
Cautionary note
"We have a lot of hope. We have not received confirmation yet, but we are very, very optimistic, "said Yuichi Tsuda, JAXA Project Manager.
"I can not wait to see pictures. I want to see images of space seen from the surface of the asteroid, "he said.
The cautious announcement came after a similar survey conducted in 2005 by JAXA released a mobile that had failed to reach its target asteroid.
Next month, Hayabusa2 will deploy an "impactor" that will explode over the asteroid, throwing a two-kilogram copper object into the surface to explode a crater a few meters in diameter.
From this crater, the probe will collect "fresh" materials not exposed to millennia of winds and radiation, hoping to get answers to some fundamental questions about life and the universe, and to determine if space elements
Observe the surface
The probe will also release a Franco-German landing vehicle called Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) for surface observation.
Hayabusa2, the size of a large refrigerator and equipped with solar panels, is the successor of JAXA's first asteroid explorer, Hayabusa – the Japanese for the hawk.
The Hayabusa2 mission was launched in December 2014 and will return to Earth with its samples in 2020.
[ad_2]
Source link
