Japanese spacecraft drops observation device onto asteroid

JAXA’s Hayabusa project manager, Yuichi Tsuda, confirmed the landing at a news conference. JAXA collaborated with the German Aerospace Center and France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales in the MASCOT project.

The lander’s deployment follows the successful landing last month of two MINERVA-II1 observation rovers that have transmitted a series of images showing the asteroid’s rocky surface.

Hayabusa2 dropped MASCOT on the opposite hemisphere from the rovers so they don’t interfere with each other’s activity, JAXA said.

It took more than three years for the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to reach the asteroid’s vicinity. Hayabusa2 will later attempt to briefly land on the asteroid itself to collect samples to send back to researchers on Earth.

The two successful landings of the probes provide a boost of confidence ahead of the upcoming landing of Hayabusa2, though that will be a greater challenge, Tsuda said.

The lithium battery-run MASCOT can operate 16 hours — while the asteroid revolves twice — to collect and transmit data, including temperature and mineral varieties. After its observation activity at the initial landing spot, it will bounce to a second location to collect another set of samples there.

According to JAXA, MASCOT is carrying a wide-angle camera on its side to capture images of its surroundings. A spectroscopic microscope on the bottom is designed to examine minerals on the asteroid’s surface. MASCOT will also measure the magnetic force and temperature on the asteroid.

___

Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi

Find her work at https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi

Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Japanese spacecraft drops observation device onto asteroid

What's Happening