Japanese Asteroid Landing Reveals Stunning Surface Detail

[Judi Lynn]

May 7, 2020
CARSON McCULLOUGH



In this image, the DLR-developed MASCAM camera is directed obliquely downward on the asteroid Ryugu and covers areas east of the descent route. (Jaumann et al., Science, 2019)

(CN) — A new study reveals the up-close and personal look astronomers got into the mysterious structure of a nearby asteroid that routinely orbits near Earth after a Japanese spacecraft managed to land on its rocky surface.

Of the seemingly countless things astrophysicists and astronomers have sought to study in the reaches of space, asteroids have long been a cosmic item of scientific interest. Scientists cite these relatively small and jagged objects as potential treasure troves of information about the mineral composition of the asteroids themselves as well as the evolution of the solar system.

One asteroid that has recently captured the attention of researchers is the object known as 162173 Ryugu, an asteroid that orbits between Earth and Mars. Ryugu, roughly half a mile wide and named after a mystical undersea palace in Japanese folklore, has earned the interest of scientists in recent years due in part to how close Ryugu is to Earth — just around 60,000 miles away at its closest orbital point.

Attempts to better understand the nearby asteroid led Japanese researchers to launch the spacecraft Hayabusa2 toward Ryugu nearly six years ago. After an almost four-year journey through space, the craft finally reached Ryugu in the summer of 2018.

More:
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[Wounded Bear]

1. Thanks for the link...nt

[trusty elf]

2. Well done, Japan.

[Jeebo]

3. I don't understand. 60,000 miles away?

That's only one-fourth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. It can't be THAT close. And how could it take four years to get there if it's that close? Did they mean 60 MILLION miles? But that would be farther than Mars, and the story says it's between Earth and Mars. Did they mean 6 million miles? Or 600,000? (One zero more or less makes a huge difference.) Something doesn't make sense, or needs some clarification.

-- Ron

[Igel]

4. Ryugu is in orbit around the Sun.

It crosses Earth's orbit, and we could (in principle) collide with it. Sometimes it's more like 2 AU from the Earth, sometimes much, much less than the distance to the Moon.

https://theskylive.com/how-far-is-ryugu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162173_Ryugu

A linguist I knew once pointed out that you can do research on a language with a nice climate or one with a crappy climate--the choice is yours.

You can send a probe to an easy-to-reach asteroid or one that's hard to reach.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. its a crying shame that the usa has lost this to a bunch of maroons who dont belive in science .

you go japan.

[reACTIONary]

9. Lost what? Space exploration...

... is an international endeavor. All nations cooperate and the US is the acknowledged leader.

[AllaN01Bear]

10. science in general. the science in chief dosent belive in science .

[reACTIONary]

11. Well you've got that right. He (or it) doesn't. nt

[SCantiGOP]

6. That looks like what the people in Maine call

the beach.

(Sorry, Maine friends, I do love your state)

[NurseJackie]

7. Are those little craters, or little rocks?

It's kind of an optical illusion depending on how you look at it.

[mjvpi]

8. It would look perfect with a certain orange object deposited on it.

We could even allow him to brand it after we exiled him there. Tell him it’s a comet. Trumps comet.