Japan's rovers landed successfully on asteroid Ryugu

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JAXA confirms 2 rovers landed successfully on asteroid Ryugu
Eddie Irizarry in SPACE | September 22, 2018

Japan’s space agency JAXA said the pair of tiny robots – released by the Hayabusa2 space probe – touched down Saturday on asteroid Ryugu.


This amazing photo was captured by Rover 1A as it was bouncing or hopping over
the surface of asteroid Ryugu on September 22, 2018. The bright white region is
due to sunlight, while the blue area is a distortion, also caused by sunlight.
Image via JAXA/Hayabusa2.

JAXA, Japan’s space agency, said on Saturday, September 22, 2018, that two rovers released by its Hayabusa2 spaceraft have set down successfully on asteroid Ryugu, hundreds of millions of miles from Earth. The spacecraft traveled for four years before encountering Ryugu. JAXA has now released images taken by the rovers as they were ejected from the mother spacecraft, as well as other images captured as one of the probes bounced or hopped on the asteroid’s surface. JAXA said:

Both rovers are confirmed to have landed on the surface of Ryugu. They are in good condition and have transmitted photos and data. We also confirmed they are moving on the surface.