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Japanese Robots Send Pictures After Landing On Asteroid

Japanese Robots Send Pictures After Landing On Asteroid

Wednesday, September 26, 2018 IST

The MINERVA-II1 with two rovers was launched from Japan's Hayabusa 2 probe, and landed on the surface of asteroid Ryugu.

NEW DELHI: The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has successfully landed two rovers on an asteroid and the robots have sent the first set of photographs giving us a glimpse into what the asteroidal surface is like.

The agency shared the pictures through tweets. The MINERVA-II1 with two rovers was launched from Japan's Hayabusa 2 probe, and landed on the surface of asteroid Ryugu. JAXA tweeted that the rovers are in good condition and moving on the surface.

One of the pictures was captured right after separation of the rover from the spacecraft. It shows the Hayabusa 2 on top and Ryugu's surface. A second image more clearly shows the asteroid with a slightly rocky surface.

Here are the pictures:

This dynamic photo was captured by Rover-1A on September 22 at around 11:44 JST. It was taken on Ryugu's surface during a hop. The left-half is the surface of Ryugu, while the white region on the right is due to sunlight. (Hayabusa2 Project) pic.twitter.com/IQLsFd4gJu
— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) 22 September 2018

Photo taken by Rover-1B on Sept 21 at ~13:07 JST. It was captured just after separation from the spacecraft. Ryugu's surface is in the lower right. The misty top left region is due to the reflection of sunlight. 1B seems to rotate slowly after separation, minimising image blur. pic.twitter.com/P71gsC9VNI
— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) 22 September 2018

This is a picture from MINERVA-II1. The color photo was captured by Rover-1A on September 21 around 13:08 JST, immediately after separation from the spacecraft. Hayabusa2 is top and Ryugu's surface is below. The image is blurred because the rover is spinning. #asteroidlanding pic.twitter.com/CeeI5ZjgmM
— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) 22 September 2018