일, 소행성에 로봇탐사선 성공적 착륙시켜 VIDEO: Japan successfully lands robot rovers on an asteroid's surface

Japan successfully lands robot rovers on an asteroid's surface

By Chandler Thornton and Euan McKirdy, CNN

September 22, 2018

(CNN)The Japanese space agency JAXA said it made history Saturday by successfully landing two unmanned rovers on an asteroid.

"The two rovers are in good condition and are transmitting images and data," a JAXA statement said after the rovers separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft and landed on the asteroid Ryugu.

The rovers, known as MINERVA-II1, have landed on the asteroid Ryugu, Japan's space agency says.

일, 소행성에 로봇탐사선 성공적 착륙시켜   일본의 두대의 로봇 탐사선이 성공적으로 소행성의 표면에 착륙했다 "이 두 탐사 로봇은 좋은 상태이며 이미지와 데이터를 전송하고 있다,"라고 JAXA 가 하야부사2 우주선에서 분리되어 소행성 류구에 착륙한 후 말했다. 이 탐사기는 MINERVA-II1로 알려져 있다. 미노베A-II1은 세계 최초로 소행성 표면에 착륙한 이동탐사 로봇이라고 우주국은 전했다. "일본에서 이뤄낸 성과에 깜짝 놀랐어요. 이것은 깊은 우주 탐험의 진정한 매력이다," 라고 우주국의 대변인인 다카시 쿠보다(Takashi Kubota)가 언급했다. 하야부사2호는 이날 오후 약 20km(12.4마일)의 궤도를 도는 고도에서 류구스에 접근하기 시작했다. 암반에서 100m 이내까지 접근하던 중 하야부사2의 그림자가 황량하고 구김살이 많은 표면에 투영된 모습 등을 담은 사진을 보내왔다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Cheol Hwang, conpaper editor, curator

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The rovers are collectively known as MINERVA-II1. The space agency reported that MINERVA-II1 is the world's first mobile exploration robot to land on the surface of an asteroid.

"I felt awed by what we had achieved in Japan. This is just a real charm of deep space exploration," said Takashi Kubota, a spokesman for the space agency.

The Hayabusa2 began its approach to Ryugu from an orbiting altitude of around 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) on Thursday afternoon.

As the craft approached to within 100 meters (328 feet) of the space rock, it sent back a photo showing Hayabusa2's shadow projected onto its barren, cratered surface.

Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe touching down on distant asteroid

Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe touching down on distant asteroid

Beneath their desolate surfaces, asteroids are believed to contain a rich treasure-trove of information about the formation of the solar system billions of years ago.

The 1 kilometer-wide space rock, which is shaped like a diamond, is expected to be "rich in water and organic materials," allowing scientists to "clarify interactions between the building blocks of Earth and the evolution of its oceans and life, thereby developing solar system science," JAXA said in a statement.

A series of specially designed cameras -- four on the first rover and three on the second -- will take stereo images of the asteroid's surface. The rovers are also equipped with temperature gauges and optical sensors as well as an accelerometer and a set of gyroscopes.

 "I cannot find words to express how happy I am..." Y.T./HAYABUSA2@JAXA@haya2e_jaxa

A third rover called MASCOT will be launched from Hayabusa2 in early October.

Later in the mission, scheduled for the end of October, the spacecraft will land on the asteroid after blowing a small crater in it using explosives, so samples that haven't been exposed to space can be gathered from below the object's surface.

After examining the far distant object and taking samples, Hayabusa2 will depart Ryugu in December 2019 before returning to Earth by the end of 2020 with its cargo of samples.

If successful, JAXA has said it will be the "world's first sample return mission to a C-type asteroid."

Japanese scientists are racing NASA for that achievement, with the US agency's sample retrieval mission due to arrive back on Earth in 2023.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/22/asia/japan-rovers-asteroid/index.html

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