A Japanese Probe Just Bombed an Asteroid
Hayabusa2 was launched with a five-gram bullet and an explosive, both meant for the Ryugu asteroid 200 million miles from Earth. Continue reading A Japanese Probe Just Bombed an Asteroid
Category Archives: hayabusa2
The Science of Landing on an Asteroid
TL;DR – Very, very gently.
Exploiting the resources of the rock-strewn expanse of space between Mars and the outer planets has been the stuff of science fiction for ages. There’s gold in them ‘thar space rocks, or diamonds, or platinum, or something that makes them attractive targets for capitalists and scientists alike. But before actually extracting the riches of the asteroid belt, stuck here as we are at the bottom of a very deep gravity well that’s very expensive to climb out of, we have to answer a few questions. Like, how does one rendezvous with an asteroid? What’s involved …read more
The Science of Landing on an Asteroid
TL;DR – Very, very gently.
Exploiting the resources of the rock-strewn expanse of space between Mars and the outer planets has been the stuff of science fiction for ages. There’s gold in them ‘thar space rocks, or diamonds, or platinum, or something that makes them attractive targets for capitalists and scientists alike. But before actually extracting the riches of the asteroid belt, stuck here as we are at the bottom of a very deep gravity well that’s very expensive to climb out of, we have to answer a few questions. Like, how does one rendezvous with an asteroid? What’s involved …read more
These Amazing Photos Show the First Rover Landing on an Asteroid
Hayabusa2 is the first mission to deploy mobile robots onto an asteroid. Continue reading These Amazing Photos Show the First Rover Landing on an Asteroid