Hayabusa 2 approach animation through UTC 2018-09-21 04:19. Contrast adjusted, some incomplete images skipped. Source JAXA:http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/galleries/onc/nav20180920/ …
Hayabusa 2 rovers send new images from Ryugu surface
Image copyright JAXAJapan’s space agency (Jaxa) has released new images from the robot rovers it has deployed to the surface of an asteroid.
The photos reveal new details of the surface of the space rock, which is known as Ryugu. On 21 September, the rovers were released on to the surface by the “mothership”, Hayabusa 2. Hayabusa 2 reached Ryugu in June after a three-and-a-half-year journey.
The pictures show in clear relief the rough, boulder-strewn landscape of this unusual Solar System body.
Image copyright JAXA
Image copyright JAXAOn Friday, Hayabusa 2 descended to about 60m in order to released the rovers, which had been stored in a container on the base of the spacecraft.
One of the principal concerns for deployment was Ryugu’s rougher-than-expected surface, which is carpeted with boulders and has very few smooth patches.
The 1kg rovers are equipped with wide-angle and stereo cameras to send back pictures. Spine-like projections from the edges of the hoppers are sensors that will measure surface temperatures on the asteroid.
They can hop and float around thanks to motor-powered internal rotors, which propel the robots across the asteroid.
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Herb Rose
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This is another example (along with binary asteroids) of asteroids showing that Newton’s theory, that gravity is a function of mass, is wrong.
The boulders on Ryugu are held to the surface by the force of gravity. This force must be greater than the centripetal force of the rocks, produced by the rotation of the asteroid.The astroid rotates at speed of .0983 meters per second which when squared gives a value of .00966 m^2/s^2. The distance the rocks are from the center of the asteroid is 430 meters so when you multiply these two values and divide by the universal gravitational constant (6.67 X 10 ^-11) you get the mass of Ryugu should be 62200 million metric tons instead of the 450 million metric tons in order to hold the boulders on the surface of the asteroid.
Have a good day,
Herb
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