Japanese space agency installs two vehicles on an asteroid

2018/09/25 Etxebeste Aduriz, Egoitz - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astronautika

On 21 September, the spacecraft Hayabusa2, of the Japanese space agency JAXA, released the pair of vehicles MINERVA-II1 55 meters from the asteroid Rygu. Although they initially lost their signal, the next day they confirmed that the two vehicles had landed correctly. This is the first time vehicles are placed on an asteroid.

Since JAXA have announced that the two vehicles are in good condition, are sending images and data, and are moving through the asteroid. The jumps are mainly MINERVA-II 1A and 1B, with a duration of 15 minutes due to the low gravity force.

In addition to taking images of the asteroid, vehicles measure surface temperature. And the mission will not end there. The following year, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft plans to release two other probes and place them on the asteroid, and then Hayabusa2 take a sample of the surface of the asteroid and deposit it on Earth.