Facebook Twitter Pinterest This computer generated image shows the Ryugu asteroid and the probe Hayabusa2. Photograph: APThe agency tried but failed to land a rover on another asteroid in a similar mission in 2005. In October, the Hayabusa2 probe will deploy an “impactor” that will explode above the asteroid, shooting a 2kg copper missile to blast a small crater into the surface. The probe will also release a French-German landing vehicle named the mobile asteroid surface scout (MASCOT) for surface observation. The Hayabusa2 mission was launched in December 2014 and will return to Earth with its samples in 2020.

Source: The Guardian September 23, 2018 11:15 UTC