The Hayabusa-2 spacecraft dropped another probe on the asteroid Ryugu

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Tonight, Hayabusa2 dropped another probe onto the asteroid Ryugu. This time, it was manufactured by the German Aerospace Center. It’s called MASCOT (which translates as «Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout») and is significantly larger than the two previous probes: 30 x 30 x 20 cm and weighing approximately 10 kg. Unlike the Japanese probes, it was mounted on the side of Hayabusa2.

An infrared spectroscopic microscope is mounted on the bottom of the probe to study the composition and characteristics of minerals on Ryugu’s surface. A thermal radiometer is also mounted there to measure temperature and a magnetometer to measure the asteroid’s magnetic field.

MASCOT also has a hopping mechanism similar to the Minerva II probes: using an electric motor and a massive lever, the probe can flip or hop.

Position of instruments and landers / JAXA / Science of Everything

Unfortunately, this lander has no solar panels or any power sources other than rechargeable batteries. The hopper was intended to be used only once – in case the lander was in the wrong position upon landing. Its entire mission will be limited to measuring the surface parameters of a single point on the asteroid.

A point in Ryugu’s southern hemisphere has been chosen as its landing site. This site was chosen based on criteria such as avoiding overlap with previous landing sites, the ability to communicate with Hayabusa, solar illumination time, and the importance of the scientific data.

The descent module separated from the Hayabusa2 probe today at 6:17 Kyiv time, at an altitude of 51 meters above the surface. Twenty minutes after separation, MASCOT made its first contact with the surface. During the descent, the wide-angle camera captured approximately 20 images, and the magnetometer made its first measurements, detecting a weak field generated by solar wind particles and disturbances generated by the module during landing.

Communication with the module is maintained, and mission engineers are currently analyzing the data it is receiving. The module should have already begun its autonomous scientific program.

MASCOT’s batteries are expected to last 16 hours—approximately two days for the asteroid Ryugu. Next year, another Rover-2 probe is planned for release, and by the end of 2019, Hayabusa-2 will collect soil and return it to Earth. The return of a small capsule with Ryugu soil samples is planned for December 2020.