SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Japan's Hopping Rovers Capture Amazing Views of Asteroid Ryugu (Video)
Two tiny, hopping rovers that landed on asteroid Ryugu last week have beamed back some incredible new views of the asteroid's rocky surface.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 sample-return mission dropped the two nearly identical rovers, named Minerva-II1A and Minerva-II1B, onto the surface of Ryugu on Sept. 21. In a new video from the eyes of Minerva-II1B, you can watch the sun move across the sky as its glaring sunlight reflects off the shiny rocks that cover Ryugu's surface.
Also at Hayabusa2 project website.
takyon: Additionally, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft has returned its highest resolution view of Ryugu, from when it dropped the Minerva rovers.
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Saturday September 29 2018, @04:27PM
The Minerva rovers are a tiny secondary payload with a total mass of 1-1.1 kg each.
There is a larger rover, MASCOT, which will be deployed on October 3. It has a mass of 9.6 kg. It might be able to take better pictures, although it has a non-rechargeable battery.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft itself took a pretty good image from an altitude of 64 meters. This object will be well photographed by the end of the mission.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]