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A Franco-German observation device has landed safely on an asteroid after the publication of a Japanese spacecraft as part of a search effort likely to provide clues about the fact. origin of the solar system, announced Japanese space officials.
The Japanese Space Exploration Agency announced that the mobile surface astronaut, or MASCOT, had been released from the unmanned spaceship Hayabusa2 and had successfully landed on the plane. asteroid Ryugu.
The spacecraft approached approximately 50 meters from the surface of the asteroid to release the box-shaped undercarriage. Hayabusa2 has been stationed near the asteroid since June after traveling 280 million kilometers from the Earth. About an hour after separation, the space agency, known as JAXA, said it received signals from MASCOT, a sign of its safe landing.
Yuichi Tsuda, head of the JAXA Hayabusa Project, confirmed the landing at a press conference. JAXA collaborated with the German Aerospace Center and the French National Center for Space Studies as part of the MASCOT project.
The deployment of the lander follows the successful landing last month of two MINERVA-II1 observation planes that transmitted a series of images showing the rock surface of the asteroid.
Hayabusa2 dropped MASCOT on the opposite hemisphere of the rovers so they do not interfere with their respective activities, JAXA said. It took more than three years for the Hayabusa2 Space Shuttle to reach the neighborhood of the asteroid. Hayabusa2 will later attempt to land briefly on the asteroid itself to collect samples and send them back to Earth researchers.
The two successful probing landings boost self-confidence in anticipation of Hayabusa's upcoming landing2, but it will be a bigger challenge, Tsuda said.
The MASCOT powered lithium battery can run for 16 hours – while the asteroid rotates twice – to collect and transmit data, including temperature and mineral varieties. After his observation activity at the initial landing site, he will bounce to a second location to collect another set of samples.
According to the JAXA, MASCOT carries a wide angle camera to capture images of its environment. A bottom spectroscopic microscope is designed to examine the minerals on the surface of the asteroid. MASCOT will also measure magnetic force and temperature on the asteroid.
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