[ad_1] Back in February, Japan’s second asteroid-exploring spacecraft touched down on the asteroid Ryugu to collect samples that it will bring back to Earth. Tonight, Hayabusa2 is making its final sample collection attempt, where it will try to collect material that was exposed by a crater it created with explosives back in April. It will […]
Category: asteroid
SpaceX will assist NASA’s first-ever mission to redirect an asteroid
[ad_1] This is batting practice. But the stakes are still high: Failure could derail NASA’s so-called “kinectic impactor technique,” success will provide the crucial data that will inform its deployment against an actual asteroid on a collision course with Earth. NASA plans to intercept Didymos when it’s within 11 million kilometres (7 million miles) of […]
Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft bombs Ryugu asteroid
[ad_1] [SCI] April 5 at 11:56 JST. The SCI operation time has passed and we have confirmed there is no problem with the spacecraft during the evacuation operation. — HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) April 5, 2019 To avoid getting hit by flying debris, Hayabusa2 maneuvered itself away from the impact zone, according to the BBC. Japan’s Jaxa […]
Watch the Hayabusa2 probe touch down on asteroid Ryugu
[ad_1] Hayabusa2 has been orbiting Ryugu since mid-2018 to find the perfect spot for its touchdown. It took over a day for the probe to descend from its orbit, but the contact itself lasted only for a second. The video below shows the event at five times its actual speed: JAXA plans to use the […]