Asteroid Ryugu will explore the Hayabusa-2018 2 probe in October

20. 09. 2018
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Japan set the date for the landing of the space probe Hayabusa-2 on an asteroid. The asteroid will be explored by the Hayabusa-2 space probe. The space probe, Haybusa-2, has reached the asteroid Ryugu (a rotating space object with a pointed shape) in June 2018 for three and a half years.

To deploy separate robotic landing craft from the "motherboat" Hayabusa-2 specific days were selected during September and October 2018. Robots will be sent to different locations on the asteroid. If everything goes well, Hayabusa-2 will be the first space probe to successfully land the landing gear to collect data from the asteroid's surface.

Asteroid Ryugu (© JAXA, UNI TOKYO & COLLABORATORS)

The space object of the 1km diameter (referred to as 162173 Ryugu) belongs to the totally primitive type of asteroids. It is a relic that has been in the universe since the very beginning of our solar system. Her studies can explain the origin and development of our own planet.

Hayabusa-2

Hayabusa-2 was launched from the Tanegashima space center in the southern part of Japan on December 03.12.2014, 3,3. He carries scientific tools in containers, which he unloads on the surface of Ryugu. The 1 kg container, known as the Minerva II-XNUMX, unloads two robotic vehicles known as the Minerva II-XNUMX Rover 1A and Rover 1B.

Rover vehicles weigh 1kg. They move by jumping because the asteroid has low gravity. Each of them contains an internal motor that rotates and creates a force that drives the robot to the surface. Rover vehicles are equipped with wide-angle and stereo cameras that send images from Ryugu to Earth.

mascot

In October, the 2018 parent ship disposes of a landing gear called Mascot, developed by the German Aeronautical Center (DLR) in cooperation with the French Space Agency (CNES).

The mascot, also known as the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, is a 10kg instrument pack that collects a range of scientific data from the asteroid's surface. It contains a wide-angle camera, a microscope for studying the composition of minerals, a radiometer for measuring temperature and a magnetometer for measuring the magnetic field. After reaching the surface, Mascot can only move once by jumping.

Japan planted an asteroid probe

The rough surface of the asteroid would could be risky for the landing.

The Cosmic Agency said:

"The Ryugu surface is covered with boulders, so we need to further collect and edit asteroid information to land as dangerous as possible."

The height of the largest boulder, located near the South Pole, is estimated at about 130 meters - which is about the same as the height of the London Eye. Another landing module, known as the Minerva II-2, which was built by a team from the Tohoku University of Japan, will be dropped later.

Missions and other plans

The mission has other plans for the future. The Japanese Air Reconnaissance Agency (Jaxa) plans to detonate an explosive that will create a crater into the surface of Ryugu. The Abusa-2 module could later descend into the crater to collect fresh rocks that have not been exposed to environmental changes over the ages. These samples will then be sent to Earth for laboratory examination.

The spacecraft with asteroid samples will leave Ryugu in December 2019 and return to Earth in 2020.

The first Hayabusa spacecraft was launched in 2003 and reached the asteroid Itokawa in 2005. Although accompanied by a number of inconveniences, it returned to Earth in 2010 with a small amount of asteroid material. A similar asteroid sampling mission is currently underway in America. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft will land at 101955 Bennu later this year.

Very cool animation (© Kowch737)

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