Japanese space agency JAXA has had an up-close-and-personal relationship with the asteroid known as Ryugu ever since its Hayabusa-2 spacecraft entered orbit around the space rock in June of last year. The probe shot two separate projectiles at the asteroid and successfully snagged a pair of material samples. Its most recent (and daring) maneuver was carried out on July 11th, and now we have video from the probe showing how things played out.
The strategy was simple: blow a hole in Ryugu to obtain pristine samples of the material that rests just beneath the asteroid’s surface. Actually setting down on the asteroid to grab the sample, however, is easier said than done. Thankfully, JAXA and its trust spacecraft pulled it off.
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Watch Japan’s asteroid probe touch down on asteroid Ryugu originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 29 Jul 2019 at 22:04:28 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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