The European satellite MASCOT successfully lands on the asteroid Ryugu

Artistic view of MASCOT landing on the asteroid Ryugu. Image Credit: DLR

A small European spacecraft, known as the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT), landed successfully on the Ryugu asteroid on Wednesday, October 3, beginning its short but busy operational life. .

MASCOT was deployed by Japan Hayabusa 2 spacecraft in orbit around Ryugu since the end of June 2018. The cube-shaped lander separated from the orbit at 13:58 GMT (21:58 EDT on 2 October) at an altitude of about 51 meters and went down to a free fall. The landing took place about 20 minutes later.

"Thanks to the telemetry of the LG, we could see that it was separating from the maternal artery and came into contact with the surface of the asteroid about 20 minutes later" said Tra-Mi Ho, head of the MASCOT project at the Space Institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Systems.

MASCAM's DLR camera onboard MASCOT acquired this image as it descended to the Ryugu asteroid three and a half minutes after being separated from its original Hayabusa 2 craft. This image, the LG is located about 20 meters from the surface of the asteroid. The shadow of MASCOT is visible. top right. Image Credit: MASCOTTE / DLR / JAXA.

During the descent, the spacecraft used its MASCAM camera and took 20 photos, which are now stored on board. Hayabusa 2.

After landing, the spacecraft almost immediately began to explore the surface of the asteroid, performing various measurements. The probe is designed to study the structure and mineralogical composition, as well as the thermal behavior and magnetic properties of Ryugu. The asteroid has been identified as potentially dangerous (it could hit the Earth). It has a diameter of about 1 km.

When MASCOT finishes measurements in one place, he is able to reposition himself to continue his studies. However, since the LG is equipped with a non-rechargeable battery, it can only run on Ryugu for 16 hours.

Although MASCOT's operational life is short, scientists hope that intensive work will yield crucial data to improve our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system.

"With MASCOT, we have the unique opportunity to study the most important material in the solar system directly on an asteroid," said Ralf Jaumann, a DLR planetary researcher.

Developed by DLR in cooperation with the French space agency CNES, MASCOT weighs about 21 kg. (9.6 kg) and measures 11.6 x 10.8 x 7.7 inches (29.5 x 27.5 x 19.5 cm). In addition to MASCAM, the undercarriage is equipped with an infrared spectrometer (MicrOmega), a magnetometer (MASMAG) and a radiometer (MARA).

MASCOT is the third probe sent to Ryugu's surface by Hayabusa 2. On September 21, the orbiter deployed two tiny rovers, designated Rover-1A and Rover-1B, as part of the second MIcro Nano Experimental Vehicle for Asteroid robotic vehicle project (MINERVA-II). It was the first time that devices capable of maneuvering around the surface of a body were successfully placed on an asteroid. Another spacecraft, Rover-2, is expected to be deployed by Hayabusa 2 in 2019.

Weighing about 0.6 tons, the Hayabusa 2 The spacecraft was launched December 3, 2014 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in order to explore Ryugu, recover materials and bring them to Earth. He arrived at the asteroid on June 27, 2018 and is expected to leave the tiny world in December of next year (2019) in order to return home the following year.

Tagged: CNES Asteroid DLR France German Aerospace Center Germany Hayabusa 2 JAXA MASK Ryugu The Range

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Tomasz Nowakowski

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