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"The two rovers are in good condition and are transmitting images and data," said a JAXA statement after the separation of the spacecraft from the spacecraft Hayabusa2 and landing on the asteroid Ryugu.
The rovers are collectively known as MINERVA-II1. The space agency reported that MINERVA-II1 is the world's first mobile exploration robot to land on the surface of an asteroid.
"I was impressed by what we had accomplished in Japan, it is only a real charm of space exploration," said Takashi Kubota, spokesman for the 39, space agency.
The Hayabusa2 began its approach from Ryugu at an altitude of about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) Thursday afternoon.
As the craft approached within 100 meters (328 feet) of the space rock, he returned a photograph showing the shadow of Hayabusa2 projected onto his barren surface.
Under their desolate surfaces, it is thought that asteroids contain a wealth of information about the formation of the solar system billions of years ago.
The diamond-shaped, 1 kilometer wide rock should be "rich in water and organic materials", allowing scientists to "clarify the interactions between Earth's constituent elements and the evolution of its oceans and oceans. of his life, developing the science of the solar system, "JAXA said in a statement.
A series of specially designed cameras – four on the first mobile and three on the second – will take stereo images of the surface of the asteroid. The rovers are also equipped with temperature gauges and optical sensors as well as an accelerometer and a set of gyroscopes.
A third rover called MASCOT will be launched from Hayabusa2 in early October.
Later in the mission, scheduled for the end of October, the spacecraft will land on the asteroid after blowing a small crater with explosives.
After examining the distant object and taking samples, Hayabusa2 will leave Ryugu in December 2019 before returning to Earth by the end of 2020 with his cargo of samples.
Japanese scientists are racing with NASA for this achievement, the US agency's sample retrieval mission to arrive on Earth in 2023.
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