Tag: JAXA
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Japanese probe readies for another possible touch-and-go on asteroid
A camera on-board Hayabusa 2 captured this image of the target marker (the bright feature at bottom right) being released just above asteroid Ryugu on May 30. Credit: JAXA Approaching the one-year anniversary since its arrival at asteroid Ryugu, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has deployed a target marker near an artificial crater created by an…
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Hayabusa 2 locates artificial crater on asteroid
[CRA2] Crater formation where the Small Carry-on Impactor collided with Ryugu has been confirmed! These images compare the surface before and after the SCI collision. pic.twitter.com/BZPYlHhSjs — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) April 25, 2019 New images from Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft show the location of a fresh crater carved from the jagged terrain of asteroid Ryugu by…
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Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe releases ‘bomb’ at asteroid
Artist’s illustration of Hayabusa 2’s impactor experiment. Credit: JAXA Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dropped an explosive charge on asteroid Ryugu on Thursday night in an audacious attempt to carve a crater on the object, exposing pristine underground rocks to be retrieved by the probe for return to Earth. Six weeks after snagging a sample from…
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Hayabusa 2’s asteroid touch-and-go comes to life in dramatic new video
A camera riding on Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft recorded stunning views of the probe’s final descent to asteroid Ryugu last month, showing the rocky debris kicked up by the robot explorer’s touch-and-go landing to collect a sample for return to Earth. The on-board camera observed Hayabusa 2’s sampling horn contact Ryugu’s gravelly surface Feb. 21,…
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Japanese probe lands on asteroid to capture sample
Moments after landing on asteroid Ryugu, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 captured this view of its landing zone from a distance of about 100 feet (30 meters), showing the probe’s shadow and markings left on the surface, likely from the spacecraft’s thruster jets firing to begin its ascent. Credit: JAXA Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft briefly landed on…
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Japan’s Epsilon conducts RAPIS-1 launch
Japan conducted its first launch of 2019 Friday, using the small Epsilon rocket to launch seven satellites, including the RAPIS-1 technology demonstration mission, into orbit. Epsilon lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Centre at the start of a nine-minute, 17-second window that opened at 09:50:20 local time (00:50 UTC). The primary payload for Friday’s launch…
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Russians reboot space station computer
A picture taken from the International Space Station shows Japan’s robotic HTV-7 cargo ship being released from the station’s Canadian robotic arm. (ESA Photo / Alexander Gerst via Twitter) A balky computer system is working again on the International Space Station, thanks to a reboot, the Russian space agency reported today. “The system was tested…
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HTV-7 concludes mission – achieves additional goals ahead of death plunge
Japan’s HTV-7 resupply spacecraft has bid farewell to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, although its mission wasn’t completely finished. HTV-7 released the Small Re-entry Capsule (HSRC) during its final days in space, allowing for a technology demonstration, ahead of the resupply craft’s final farewell via a destruction re-entry. JAXA confirmed recovery of the test…
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Bye-bye, BepiColombo: Rocket’s red glare kicks off a marathon mission to Mercury
An Ariane 5 rocket rises from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, sending the BepiColombo probe on the first leg of its journey to Mercury. (Arianespace via YouTube) A mission to the planet Mercury got off to a flashy start with tonight’s launch of an Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket, but there’s a long way…
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Japanese robots land on asteroid, send back pictures
The MINERVA-II-1A rover captured this blurred image Saturday at 0244 GMT (10:44 p.m. EDT Friday) showing asteroid Ryugu as the robot hopped across its surface. The bright feature on the right side of the image was caused by sunlight. Credit: JAXA A pair of tiny automated robots touched down on asteroid Ryugu on Friday after…