Tag: Ryugu
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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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Watch Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe blast away a blizzard of rocks from an asteroid
If there was ever any doubt that Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft was able to get access to samples from an asteroid called Ryugu last month, a video released today should put those doubts to rest. The black-and-white video clip, shot by the probe’s CAM-H monitoring camera, shows the sampling horn being lowered to the sunlit…
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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 Hayabusa 2 team says spacecraft touches down on asteroid to grab sample
An image captured just after the Hayabusa 2’s touchdown on asteroid Ryugu shows the H-shaped shadow of the spacecraft and its solar panels. The dark splotch represents material disturbed by the sample collection operation. (JAXA Photo via Twitter) Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft successfully touched down today on asteroid Ryugu, more than 200 million miles from…
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MASCOT lander sends back otherworldly views of asteroid Ryugu’s rugged terrain
The MASCOT lander’s view of asteroid Ryugu’s lumpy, bumpy surface was displayed during a post-mission news conference. Click on the image for more from German science writer Daniel Fischer’s Skyweek 2.0 website. (DLR Photo / Processed by Daniel Fischer) Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe and the German-French MASCOT lander have teamed up to send back amazing…
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Check out close-up views of asteroid (plus a movie) from Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission
This image of the asteroid Ryugo was captured by the Hayabusa 2 probe’s ONC-T camera at an altitude of about 64 meters (210 feet). Image was taken on Sept. 21. A large boulder is at bottom left, along with a scale bar indicating the length of 1 meter. (Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University,…
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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…
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Japanese mini-rovers send back their first images as they hop around an asteroid
An image from the Hayabusa 2 mission’s Rover-1A shows the surface of the asteroid Ryugu at left. The bright white region is due to sunlight. The image, captured at about 11:44 a.m. JST Sept. 22 (7:44 p.m. PT Sept. 21), is blurry because it was taken while the mini-rover was in the middle of a hop…
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Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe drops off rovers at an asteroid and snaps a shadowy selfie
Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe takes a picture of the asteroid Ryugu from a distance of about 135 meters (440 feet) with its own shadow seen on the surface. (JAXA Photo) Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe began the climactic phase of its mission overnight by sending out its first two rovers as it hovered less than 200…
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Japanese spacecraft reaches asteroid after three-and-a-half-year journey
Asteroid Ryugu imaged by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft June 26 at a range of 13 miles (22 kilometers) Wednesday. Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, Aizu University, AIST Japan’s robotic Hayabusa 2 spacecraft arrived Wednesday at asteroid Ryugu, a diamond-shaped object more than a half-mile…