Asteroid Ryugu looks like an Octahedron

[uzn]

Asteroid size comparrison:

Itokawa (Hayabusa) - Ryugu (Hayabusa 2)


Many Asteroids with Vesta and Ceres missing:

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Stereoscopic Version:





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Some new Images of Ryugu

[uzn]

Oh Boy, now Hayabusa 2 is just 6 km away from Ryugu.

[Star Tsar]

Latest from Hyabusa2

Posted by Star Tsar (here)
Space.com

Hyabusa2 Spacecraft Sees Shadow Cast On Asteroid

Published 16th September 2018

From 1968 feet above asteroid Ryugu on 12th September 2018 Hyabusa2 returns a portion of data

Read all about it here: https://www.space.com/40161-hayabusa2.html

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_DkzU-nj_90

[1paintertoo]

JAXA has successfully landed two rovers on Ryugu:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-a8550981.html

[Hervé]

Japan's 'hopping rovers' land successfully, send first images of Ryugu asteroid

RT
Sun, 23 Sep 2018 03:01 UTC

Ryugu Asteroid © JAXA

A pair of tiny JAXA robots, released by the Hayabusa2 probe, have successfully landed on the Ryugu asteroid and began transmitting images from the surface of the "potentially hazardous" object four years after the mission launch.

The first images from the astronomical object flying at some 300 million kilometers from the Earth were received by Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) immediately after the MINERVA-II1 rovers touched down on the asteroid on Friday.

The first image was taken after the separation of the two cylinder-shaped explorers from the Hayabusa2 space probe. Snapped while the rover was rotating, the blurred image shows Hayabusa2 at the top of the screen with the surface of Ryugu depicted at the bottom.

Hayabusa 2 probe © Pintarest

The second image received on Earth was captured by Rover-1B and shows a much clearer definition of the surface of Ryugu in the lower right corner, with sunlight reflection visible on the top left. The third image released by JAXA was snapped by Rover-1A as it hopped on the surface of its target, offering yet another glimpse of the mysterious object.

HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa

• Photo taken by Rover-1B on Sept 21 at ~13:07 JST. It was captured just after separation from the spacecraft. Ryugu's surface is in the lower right. The misty top left region is due to the reflection of sunlight. 1B seems to rotate slowly after separation, minimising image blur.
  
  
  5:56 AM - 22 Sep 2018
  
  94 replies 1,657 retweets 4,069 likes

• HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa Sep 22
  
  This dynamic photo was captured by Rover-1A on September 22 at around 11:44 JST. It was taken on Ryugu's surface during a hop. The left-half is the surface of Ryugu, while the white region on the right is due to sunlight. (Hayabusa2 Project)
  
  
  133 replies 2,802 retweets 6,578 likes

"MINERVA-II1 is the world's first rover (mobile exploration robot) to land on the surface of an asteroid," JAXA said. "This is also the first time for autonomous movement and picture capture on an asteroid surface."

Measuring just 18-by-7cms and weighing about one kilo, MINERVA-II1 rovers will take advantage of Ryugu's low gravity to hop about the surface of the asteroid, which is approximately one kilometer in diameter. The robots will take photos and temperature readings of Ryugu before Hayabusa2 space probe lands on the asteroid's surface in 2019.

Hayabusa2 was launched in December 2014 and made its rendezvous with Ryugu in June this year. Once the probe completes taking samples from the asteroid, it will head back to Earth in late 2020.

[Hervé]

WATCH First-Ever VIDEO Filmed From Asteroid Surface

Sputnik Tech
09:57 28.09.2018

© Photo: Twitter / HAYABUSA2@JAXA

Two Japanese rovers, deployed by an unmanned spacecraft to a space rock 300 million kilometers away from the Earth last week, have transmitted their first images from the surface of the asteroid - and they are spectacular.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has published a video clip alongside a number of photos from the surface of Ryugu asteroid, a diamond-shaped space rock nearly 1km in diameter orbiting the Sun between the Earth and Mars.

HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa

Rover-1B succeeded in shooting a movie on Ryugu’s surface! The movie has 15 frames captured on September 23, 2018 from 10:34 - 11:48 JST. Enjoy ‘standing’ on the surface of this asteroid! [6/6]

Video at: https://twitter.com/i/status/1045278816619261953

4:47 AM - 27 Sep 2018
167 replies 4,016 retweets 7,479 likes

The 15-frame video was shot on September 23, two days after two Minerva-II1 (Micro/Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid) rovers separated from the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 and touched down on the asteroid. It shows the Sun passing overhead as seen from the rocky surface of Ryugu.

HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa

Rover-1A snapped a photograph of its own antenna and pin! Image taken on September 23, 2018 at 09:48 JST. [5/6]

4:43 AM - 27 Sep 2018

9 replies 203 retweets 869 likes

The tiny robots don't have wheels — they simply don't need them as rovers on normal wheels or crawlers would float upwards due to Ryugu's nearly-nonexistent gravity. Instead, the Japanese robots hop across the asteroid to take their magnificent snaps.

HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa

This image was taken just before Rover-1B hopped. Photograph snapped on September 23, 2018 at about 09:46 JST [2/6]

4:35 AM - 27 Sep 2018
12 replies 379 retweets 1,032 likes

The rovers have also sent back several still images. Some of them are blurry, as they were taken while the rovers were rotating. Others feature the reflection of sunlight playing tricks on the exploratory robots' colored cameras.

At least one of the rovers was moving on the asteroid's surface, JAXA reported, touting Minerva-II1 as the world's first man-made objects to ever land on an asteroid and explore its movement from the surface.

HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa

This surface image was taken by Rover-1A on September 23, 2018 at 09:43 JST. [4/6]

4:40 AM - 27 Sep 2018
3 replies 220 retweets 775 likes

JAXA has also obtained the highest-resolution photographs of Ryugu's surface to date, taken with Hayabusa2's onboard camera as it approached the asteroid to lower the rovers.

HAYABUSA2@JAXA‏ @haya2e_jaxa

As Hayabusa2 descended towards Ryugu to deploy the MINERVA-II1 rovers, the ONC-T camera snapped the highest resolution image yet of the asteroid surface! http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180927e_HighestRes/ …

6:05 PM - 27 Sep 2018
42 replies 643 retweets 1,654 likes

Hayabusa2, an asteroid sample-return mission led by JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, completed its 42-month, 300-million-kilometer journey to Ryugu on June 28. It is scheduled to depart from Ryugu in December 2019 and isn't expected to return home with its samples until December 2020.

[1paintertoo]

JAXA dropped an explosive device on the surface of Ryugu ostensibly to create a crater for sampling purposes.

Here's a link to the article: https://apnews.com/2dd46c807e13486c9f658ec74776ce52

[1paintertoo]

Just finished reading Delta-V, authored by Daniel Suarez, a fascinating fiction about the possible next steps in space exploration, specifically, a multi-year effort to send a team to mine the asteroid Ryugu. Here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/Delta-v-Danie...s%2C219&sr=8-1