The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has revealed a stunning close-up shot of the asteroid Ryugu captured by its Hayabusa-2 spacecraft.
Hayabusa-2 image of the asteroid Ryugu as seen from a distance of 3.7 miles. A particularly large crater is visible near the center of the image. Image credit: JAXA / University of Tokyo / Kochi University / Rikkyo University / Nagoya University / Chiba Institute of Technology / Meiji University / University of Aizu / AIST.
Since Hayabusa-2’s arrival at Ryugu on June 27, the JAXA engineers had operated it at a height of 12.4 miles (20 km) above the surface.
But on July 16, they slowly lowered the spacecraft from this observation position, until it was 3.7 miles (6 km) above the asteroid’s surface.
The close-up photograph of Ryugu was taken with the ONC-T (Optical Navigation Camera – Telescopic) instrument aboard the orbiter on July 20.
“We see that the entire surface of Ryugu is strewn with large boulders — we have not yet seen this on an asteroid,” said Dr. Ralf Jaumann, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center and principal investigator for the MASCOT lander aboard the spacecraft.
This illustration depicts JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft at the asteroid Ryugu. Image credit: German Aerospace Center / CC-BY 3.0.
“The largest crater on the surface of Ryugu is situated near the center of the image and you can see that it has a shape like a ‘mortar’,” the JAXA scientists said.
“You can also see that the surface of Ryugu is covered with a large number of boulders.”
“This picture will provide important information as we choose the landing site.”
“It is likely that Ryugu is a fragment of an earlier collision,” Dr. Jauman added.
“However, we have only just been at the asteroid for a short while — and all we can see is the surface.”
