The Hayabusa 2 mission will enter a new stage soon as the team prepares for another touchdown. The spacecraft landed on Asteroid Ryugu back in April when it used an explosive impactor to collect valuable samples. The researchers wish to obtain more samples, and on July 11 the spacecraft will perform a quick touch-and-go.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (also known as JAXA) spent several weeks on a variety of tests, debates, and strategies which aimed to confirm the fact that the spacecraft can land in the target areas without problems. The main challenge comes from the fact that the site is filled with boulders of and rocks which may compromise the probe.
The mission schedule mentions an 18-month exploration stage which is now close to the end. After it manages to collect the second set of samples from the surface of the asteroid, the probe will start its long journey towards earth.
Hayabusa 2 Prepares For A Touchdown On Asteroid Ryugu
Within the span of the exploration stage, the researchers managed to land, and take off from the asteroid released a trio of secondary probes which collected additional data and created a new crater with the help of the explosive impactor. The sample recovery mechanism used by the robotic probe is quite fascinating. A bullet is fired at the desired spot by using the sampler horn. The impact will generate debris which is collected with the sampler horn and stored in a collection chamber built within the spacecraft.
There is no direct way to verify how many samples have been collected, but telemetry data infers that the instrument worked as intended.
In April the probe launched an explosive director who sent a copper payload towards the surface of the asteroid, in an attempt to uncover ancient stones which were buried for billions of years.
The July 11 touchdown will take place at a short distance from the artificial crater, where most of the material dislocated by the explosion fell. It is hoped that everything will go according to plan.
Jasmine holds a Master’s in Journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto and writes professionally in a broad variety of genres. She has worked as a senior manager in public relations and communications for major telecommunication companies, and is the former Deputy Director for Media Relations with the Modern Coalition. Jasmine writes primarily in our LGBTTQQIAAP and Science section.