Hayabusa2 will begin orbiting asteroid 162173 Ryugu on June 27th. The spacecraft includes four robotic landers and will capture material for a sample return:
The Japanese asteroid sampling mission Hayabusa2, launched on December 3, 2014 aboard an H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima, Japan, has nearly completed its long flight to asteroid Ryugu (formerly 1999 JU3) after a five year mission and an Earth flyby.
[...] The Hayabusa2 follow-on has one more reaction wheel (to make four) and improved, higher thrust ion engines, along with a backup asteroid sampling system, and the spacecraft is in good health so far. Hayabusa2 is a 600 kilogram (1300 pound) spacecraft that is based on the Hayabusa craft, with some improvements. It is powered by two solar panels and uses an ion engine with xenon propellant as its main propulsion source. The ion engine technology was first used in the Deep Space One experimental spacecraft in the late 1990's and also has been successfully used in the Dawn asteroid probe as well.
[...] Besides the primary and backup sample collectors, the mission includes three MINERVA "hoppers" similar to the one used on the original Hayabusa mission that will land at several locations on the surface to study these locations with cameras and thermometers. [...] International contributions include a small robotic lander (10 kilograms or 20 pounds) called MASCOT that is a joint venture of DLR (Germany) and CNES (France), while NASA is providing communications through the Deep Space Network.
[...] Its arrival at Ryugu is set for June 27th, and Hayabusa2 will be 20 km (12 miles) above the surface on that date, as things currently stand. The arrival will be followed by a press conference in Sagamihara, Japan.
The total mission cost is about $150 million. The H-IIA rocket costs about $90 million to launch.
Also at NHK.
Related Stories
JAXA's Hayabusa2 spacecraft has begun orbiting asteroid 162173 Ryugu at a distance of about 20 kilometers:
JAXA confirmed Hayabusa2, JAXA's asteroid explorer rendezvoused with Ryugu, the target asteroid.
On June 27, 2018, JAXA operated Hayabusa2 chemical propulsion thrusters for the spacecraft's orbit control.*
The confirmation of the Hayabusa2 rendezvous made at 9:35 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) is based on the following data analyses;
·The thruster operation of Hayabusa2 occurred nominally
·The distance between Hayabusa2 and Ryugu is approximately 20 kilometers
·Hayabusa2 is able to maintain a constant distance to asteroid Ryugu
·The status of Hayabusa2 is normal
Also at Spaceflight Now.
Previously: Hayabusa2 Approaches Asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa2 conducts MINERVA-II deployment on Asteroid Ryugu
The Japanese asteroid sampling mission Hayabusa2 – launched on December 3, 2014 aboard an H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima, Japan – completed its long flight to asteroid Ryugu (formerly 1999 JU3) before – on September 21 – achieving the milestone of deploying its two tiny MINERVA-II robots/rovers.
[...] The Hayabusa2 mission is intended to image and sample the asteroid 1999 JU3, discovered in May 1999, now known as Ryugu, and to return samples of the asteroid, including samples excavated from an impactor to collect materials from under the surface, to Earth for analysis in laboratories.
[...] Besides the primary and backup sample collectors, the mission includes three MINERVA "hoppers" similar to the one used on the original Hayabusa mission that will land at several locations on the surface to study these locations with cameras and thermometers.
An impactor (SCI) with a 2 kg pure copper lump (Liner) will be used to excavate a crater on the surface, and there will be a sub-satellite that will be released to observe the impact.
Images from MINERVA-II 1 deployment.
162173 Ryugu and Hayabusa2.
Also at BBC, The Register, Space.com (alt).
Previously: Hayabusa2 Approaches Asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Reaches Asteroid 162173 Ryugu
The first rovers to explore an asteroid just sent photos home
The first rovers to explore the surface of an asteroid have landed. After touching down September 21, the vehicles took pictures of asteroid Ryugu and at least one hopped around.
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which arrived at the near-Earth asteroid on June 27 after a journey of more than three years, released the MINERVA-II1 container from a height of about 60 meters (SN Online: 6/27/18). The container then released two 18-centimeter-wide, cylindrical rovers. Because Ryugu's gravity is so weak, the rovers can hop using rotating motors that generate a torque and send them airborne for about 15 minutes.
Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency released the first blurry, otherworldly pictures from the rovers on September 22. One image appears to have been taken midhop.
Images and comments from Hayabusa2 team members.
162173 Ryugu and Hayabusa2.
Previously: Hayabusa2 Approaches Asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Reaches Asteroid 162173 Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Deploys MINERVA Landers to Asteroid Ryugu
Asteroid capsule 'found' in Australian desert
A recovery team in Australia has found a space capsule carrying the first large quantities of rock from an asteroid.
The capsule, containing material from a space rock called Ryugu, parachuted down near Woomera in South Australia.
The samples were originally collected by a Japanese spacecraft called Hayabusa-2, which spent more than a year investigating the object.
The container detached from Hayabusa-2, later entering the Earth's atmosphere.
The official Hayabusa-2 Twitter account reported that the capsule and its parachute had been found at 19:47 GMT.
Also at CNET.
Previously: Hayabusa2 Approaches Asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Reaches Asteroid 162173 Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Deploys MINERVA Landers to Asteroid Ryugu
Japan's Hopping Rovers Capture Amazing Views of Asteroid Ryugu
Short-Lived MASCOT Lander Reaches Asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Faces Difficulties in Landing and Collecting a Sample from an Asteroid
Hayabusa2 "Lands" on Asteroid Ryugu
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @11:01AM (1 child)
That's no asteroid [hayabusa2.jaxa.jp] it's a Borg cube!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @12:10AM
Who said those must be mutually exclusive?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday June 18 2018, @12:29PM
The last released images were from 650-700 km. So expect 32.5-35 times better by the end of the month, and up to 700 times better in August.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @01:51PM (1 child)
My bet is on 10 kilograms!
(Score: 2) by aiwarrior on Monday June 18 2018, @02:57PM
or 22 pounds ;)
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday June 18 2018, @05:30PM (6 children)
60 million for the development and construction of the spacecraft and landers and software, and mission operations.
Pretty amazing ROI, even if the sample return fails.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday June 18 2018, @06:46PM
I really like the multiple lander aspect. Hopefully not all of them fail or bounce off the asteroid.
If you were in the asteroid mining "industry", you could put together identical spacecraft similar in scope to Hayabusa2, but with lower costs from making dozens of them and maybe not bothering with the sample return if your analysis can be done on location. Then launch as many as possible using a reusable BFR. Lower your costs more by partnering with a space agency on the science payloads. NASA could get a great deal there: Pay for half the cost of our mass-produced asteroid prospectors, and you get the data as soon as we do.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday June 18 2018, @07:01PM (4 children)
Yep, NASA should just throw in the towel and send all their money to JAXA for them to get stuff done. Considering that Japan is one of the highest-cost-of-living countries in the world, this really speaks volumes about how broken stuff is in the US when you look at how much it costs us to build anything. Also look at how effective Japan's passenger trains/subways are, and how much they cost, versus how much trains cost here.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday June 18 2018, @08:41PM (1 child)
TESS [wikipedia.org] cost is about $300 million, and it will multiply the number of known exoplanets. Funding level will probably rise slightly after the first 2 years for continuation of operations, but it will find many more exoplanets (we discussed how TESS is able to continuously monitor certain regions in its field of view, finding exoplanets with longer orbital periods).
New Horizons [wikipedia.org] cost is under $1 billion, and not only did it reach a much further and more interesting target, but it is continuing on to at least one more Kuiper belt object.
You get what you pay for with these projects. Let's see JAXA launch a JWST-scale space telescope for under $2 billion. Or maybe we can get India's ISRO to do it. I'm waiting.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:54AM
Again, I point to the train systems in Japan, plus the rest of their infrastructure. Our subway systems in this country are a total joke, especially here in DC, the nation's capital, where the Metro constantly has outages and issues. This just doesn't exist in Japan: the trains are notorious for always being right on time, and they get maintenance work done overnight instead of shutting down parts of the system on weekends as they do here in DC. The US has a third-world quality train system (actually, that's probably not fair: countries like UAE have much better systems than ours). And look at all the bridges we have that are rusting apart and falling down. Again, this just doesn't exist in Japan.
How long have we been talking about the Ares, I mean SLS, etc. rocket system? JWST hasn't even launched; it's plagued with delays and cost overruns, which shouldn't be much surprise since it's built by a defense contractor.
In short, the US just can't get shit done any more. And when we do, it's years behind schedule and the cost is outrageous.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @12:17AM (1 child)
To be frank, the JAXA missions have so far been plagued with various problems that limited the missions. Japan is still on a learning curve, somewhat comparable to the US's 1960's record where failures were common. I'm glad to see them try a sample return again, learning from past mistakes. Practice makes perfect.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:57AM
Well honestly, they haven't been as dedicated to serious space exploration like the US was in the 60s-80s, so they're catching up. But they're doing pretty well I think given what they've had to work with and their history.
China's also making impressive strides in space. They're easily going to surpass the US within a decade or two. So Japan is probably feeling the pressure from China on one side, and the decline of their prime ally the US on the other.