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Hayabusa-2: Japan's rovers ready for touchdown on asteroid
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45578795Hayabusa-2: Japan's rovers ready for touchdown on asteroid
By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website
20 September 2018
Japan's space agency is preparing to deploy two robotic explorers to the surface of an asteroid.
On Friday, the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft will despatch a pair of "rovers" to the 1km-wide space rock known as Ryugu. Rover 1A and Rover 1B will move around by hopping in Ryugu's low gravity; they will capture images of the surface and measure temperatures.
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If all goes well, Hayabusa-2 will be the first spacecraft to successfully place robot rovers on the surface of an asteroid.
The 1km-wide space rock known formally as 162173 Ryugu belongs to a particularly primitive type of asteroid, and is therefore a relic left over from the early days of our Solar System. Studying it could shed light on the origin and evolution of our own planet.
The rovers are stored in drum-shaped container at the base of the Hayabusa-2 "mothership". Collectively, they form a 3.3kg science package known as Minerva II-1.
(snip)
