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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has talked a lot about the purpose of the Hayabusa2 mission to return a sample of the Ryugu asteroid to Earth. This could be the "main event", but Hayabusa2 still plays a good role in pointing the asteroid with robotic explorers. After deploying a pair of robots a week ago, the team launched a third, called MASCOT.
Previous robotic explorers, MINERVA-II1A and MINERVA-II1B, landed on the surface at the end of September. These drum-shaped devices are not technically "rovers" in the sense we imagine them, but they have a similar mission. Each unit is surrounded by temperature sensors and cameras to help map the Ryugu surface. However, the gravity of this half-kilometer asteroid is too low for a wheeled rover to work – it would only float. Thus, MINERVA robots have internal motors that allow them to jump on the surface.
MASCOT has a similar locomotion method, but it is not round. The MASCOT boxy robot had to use its jumping engines shortly after landing because the team determined that he was sitting in the wrong angle. There was no time to lose with MASCOT. Unlike MINERVA undercarriages, this robot does not have solar panels. It runs entirely from an internal battery that lasts about 16 hours.
The German Space Agency (DLR) has built MASCOT for the Hayabusa2 mission. It includes a series of cameras, temperature sensors and instruments to analyze the geology of Ryugu. The team posted a photo (below) of the robot making its descent to the surface in the early hours of October 3. Since this publication, MASCOT has had several hours of overtime to carry out its mission.
Hello #Earth, Hello @ haya2kun! I promised to send pictures of #Ryugu so here's a shot I took during my run. Can you spot my shadow? #AsteroidLanding pic.twitter.com/dmcilFl5ms
– MASCOT Lander (@ MASCOT2018) October 3, 2018
Then, Hayabusa2 will deploy a new wave of MINERVA robots on the surface of the asteroid. This will be the last landing before the start of the main event. At the beginning of next year, JAXA will begin the phase of collecting mission samples in three parts. The first two consist of floating on the surface and cooking solid metal bullets in the regolith. The goal is to throw dust to the probe for collection. The third asks Hayabusa2 to have access to the material currently buried below the surface. He will use a small explosive projectile to make a crater before diving to pick up equipment. In total, JAXA hopes to send 100 milligrams of dust to Earth.
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