{"id":12947,"date":"2019-09-17T23:07:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T15:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/hayabusa-2-completes-practice-run-for-deployment-of-last-asteroid-lander\/"},"modified":"2019-09-17T23:07:31","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T15:07:31","slug":"hayabusa-2-completes-practice-run-for-deployment-of-last-asteroid-lander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/hayabusa-2-completes-practice-run-for-deployment-of-last-asteroid-lander\/","title":{"rendered":"Hayabusa 2 completes practice run for deployment of last asteroid lander"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_40742\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-40742\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-40742\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EEqCK-jXoAY9exo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EEqCK-jXoAY9exo.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EEqCK-jXoAY9exo-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EEqCK-jXoAY9exo-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EEqCK-jXoAY9exo-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/EEqCK-jXoAY9exo-678x678.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-40742\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of two target markers released by Japan\u2019s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is seen in this overlay image with frames showing the target marker\u2019s location at 4-second intervals. Credit: JAXA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Japan\u2019s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft deployed two target markers Monday above asteroid Ryugu in a rehearsal for the release of the mission\u2019s final landing robot next month.<\/p>\n<p>The robotic asteroid explorer released the two 4-inch (10-centimeter) ball-shaped markers seven minutes apart Monday, after the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft descended to a distance of about 3,300 feet (1 kilometer) from Ryugu.<\/p>\n<p>The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, released a pair of images showing the target markers, each covered in a reflective film, after their release from Hayabusa 2. The target markers are unpowered and entirely passive objects designed as navigation aids for Hayabusa 2 around the asteroid.<\/p>\n<p>With both target markers away, Hayabusa 2 fired its thrusters to begin an ascent back to a home position farther from the asteroid. Ground teams are in the final stages of planning another descent toward Ryugu in October, during which Hayabusa 2 will deploy the last of four landing robots to the asteroid\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe released two target markers from an altitude of about 1 kilometer, and these images were just released,\u201d said Makoto Yoshikawa, Hayabusa 2\u2019s mission manager at JAXA. \u201cThe purpose of this release is a rehearsal of the release of the MINERVA-II-2 small rover next month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hayabusa 2\u2019s cameras will track the movement of the two navigation aids as they fly in space around Ryugu over the next several days. Scientists expect Ryugu\u2019s tenuous gravity will pull the target markers to the asteroid\u2019s surface within a week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can observe the target marker\u2019s orbit around Ryugu and we can then determine the gravity field of Ryugu in detail, so this is a new operation,\u201d Yoshikawa said Tuesday in a press briefing at the European Planetary Science Congress.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1173892852348325888&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2019%2F09%2F17%2Fhayabusa-2-completes-practice-run-for-deployment-of-last-asteroid-lander%2F&amp;sessionId=934321f614e8b333c60a291d19e1f869545a629a&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1173892852348325888\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782697392463227397=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Image of the first target marker (TM) separation, TM-E!<\/p>\n<p>Separation time: 2019\/9\/17 at 01:17 JST<br \/>\nAltitude: 1km<\/p>\n<p>This is an overlay of images taken every 4s (for ~1min) as the spacecraft ascends at 11cm\/s. TM descent speed is still almost zero. (<img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udcf7\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4f7.svg\"> JAXA, Chiba Inst. Tech &amp; collab) pic.twitter.com\/FXM7Nda0vx<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 17, 2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Hayabusa 2 is in the final phase of its science campaign at asteroid Ryugu, where it arrived in June 2018 after a three-and-a-half year journey from Earth. The spacecraft has conducted two touch-and-go landings on Ryugu \u2014 one in February and another in July \u2014 to gather pristine asteroid samples for return to Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Hayabusa 2 deployed three mobile landers to hop around Ryugu. Two MINERVA-II landers, developed in Japan, and a larger robot named MASCOT managed by the German and French space agencies beamed back images and scientific data from Ryugu\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<p>One more lander remains in Hayabusa 2\u2019s toolkit.<\/p>\n<p>The MINERVA-II-2 mobile lander was developed by a consortium of Japanese universities as a piggyback payload for Hayabusa 2. The robot is smaller than a soccer ball, but carries mechanisms to allow it to move around the asteroid, along with a camera, a thermometer, photodiode, and an accelerometer.<\/p>\n<p>Hayabusa 2 is scheduled to depart Ryugu by the end of this year using plasma engines, aiming for a return to Earth in December 2020, when the craft will release a parachute-equipped re-entry capsule to land in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists will retrieve the asteroid specimens for detailed analysis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we have 0.1 grams (of material), we can do all the sample analysis, but we hope we will have much more,\u201d Yoshikawa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to study the organic matter on Ryugu because we want to know the origin of life on the Earth, and we think Ryugu has original matter that became life,\u201d he said. \u201cSo our main purpose is analysis of the organic matter on the surface of Ryugu.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of two target markers released by Japan\u2019s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is seen in this overlay image with frames showing the target marker\u2019s location at 4-second intervals. Credit: JAXA Japan\u2019s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft deployed two target markers Monday above asteroid Ryugu in a rehearsal for the release of the mission\u2019s final landing robot next month. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1519,1965,377,877,1561,2168,1563],"class_list":["post-12947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-asteroids","tag-hayabusa-2","tag-japan","tag-jaxa","tag-planetary-science","tag-ryugu","tag-solar-system"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}