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Image captured by Rover-1A on September 22nd. Color image captured during a move (during a jump) on the surface of Ryugu. The left half of the image is the surface of the asteroid. The bright white region is due to sunlight. (Image credit: JAXA).
The Japanese space agency has published remarkable photos of the rocky surface of a distant asteroid, captured by two small vehicles.
On Friday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa 2 spacecraft lowered the MINERVA-II1 vehicles to the Ryugu space rock.
The images released Saturday show the surface of the "dumpless" asteroid, which has a diameter of only 2,953 feet.
JAPAN MAKES MORE ROVERS ON DIFFERENT DIFFICULT, VERY GOOD HISTORY
Both rovers – Rover-1A and Rover-1B – are in good condition and transmit images and data.
Image captured by Rover-1B on September 21st. This color image was taken immediately after separation from the spacecraft. The surface of Ryugu is lower right. The blurred colored top left is due to the reflection of sunlight when the picture was taken. (Image credit: JAXA)
The rovers, each the size of a cookie, can move by "jumping" up to 49 feet at a time, as the extremely low gravity of the asteroid makes rolling difficult. They can continue to jump as long as their solar panels and energy last, JAXA said.
A captured color image in the middle of the Rover-1A clearly shows the surface of the asteroid. Another image taken by Rover-1A and captured immediately after the separation of Hayabusa 2 also shows the rocky surface of Ryugu.
SPACE & # 39; DUMPLING & # 39; APPOINTMENT: THE ARRIVAL OF A HAYABUSA SPACE 2 IN JAPAN ASTEROID RYUGU
Hayabusa 2 spokesman Takashi Kubota said he was delighted to see the pictures. "The image taken by MINERVA-II1 during a leap allowed me to relax while the dream of several years became a reality," he said in a statement. "I felt impressed by what we had accomplished in Japan. This is just a real charm of deep space exploration. "
Image captured by Rover-1A on September 21st. This is a color image taken immediately after separation of the spacecraft. Hayabusa2 is upstairs and Ryugu's surface is downstairs. The picture is blurry because the picture was taken while the mobile was spinning. (Image credit: JAXA)
In addition to capturing images, rovers measure surface temperatures. A larger rover and a lander will also be released from Hayabusa 2 as part of the mission. The MASCOT lander of the mission was developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the French Space Agency (CNES).
Hayabusa 2 should attempt three brief landings on the asteroid to collect samples in the hope of providing clues about the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. Since arriving in Ryugu, scientists have been looking for suitable landing sites on the uneven surface, and their first attempt is expected in October.
THE "DUMPLING" SPACE POSES AS A SPACECRAFT PREPARES FOR AN ASTEROID APPOINTMENT
Launched on December 3, 2014, Hayabusa 2 arrived in Ryugu on June 27, 2018, while the asteroid was nearly 170 million kilometers from Earth. The spacecraft has traveled nearly 2 billion kilometers to reach the space rock.
Hayabusa 2 is expected to leave Ryugu at the end of 2019 and return to Earth by the end of 2020.
The spacecraft is Hayabusa's successor to JAXA, which landed on the asteroid Itokawa in November 2005. Despite its problems, the mission collected a number of asteroids that returned to Earth with Hayabusa in June 2010. .
ASTEROID IN OUTDOOR AFRICA
NASA is also on a mission to recover a sample of asteroids. The Space Agency's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was launched on September 8, 2016 from the Cape Canaveral Air Base for a trip to the near-Earth asteroid, Bennu. OSIRIS-Rex is expected to arrive in Bennu on December 3, 2018 and start studying the rock.
The spacecraft will return its asteroid sample to Earth in 2023.
Associated Press contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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