A Japanese probe reached an asteroid at a distance of 300 million km to collect data on the birth of the solar system and the origin of life. I spent more than 3 years on the road. JAXA representatives report that the Hayabusa-2 probe has settled in the observation zone with a distance of 20 km from the asteroid Ryugu.
Ryugu is believed to hold a relatively large amount of organic matter and water (the material of life). Scientists hope that the resulting samples will provide clues about what led to the emergence of life on Earth.
JAXA announced the event a few days before the UN International Day for Asteroids (June 30) - a global event whose goal is to raise awareness of the dangers of asteroids and the need to create technology to counter the threat.
In the pictures, the surface of Ryugo seems rough. The probe should land in the coming months and get samples. Hayabusa-2 in size reaches a small refrigerator. Equipped with solar panels and acts as the receiver of the first asteroid explorer. He returned from a smaller asteroid in 2010 with dust samples. The mission of Hayabusa-2 left $ 274 million, and the probe itself was launched in December 2014. He will stay near the asteroid for 18 months and at the end of 2020 will travel to Earth with samples. In order to take samples, a “drummer” will be released, which will explode over the asteroid, separating a 2-pound object and creating a crater with a diameter of several meters. It is in the crater that the probe will take "fresh" materials that have not succumbed to prolonged exposure to winds and radiation.
The probe will monitor the surface with a camera and sensor devices. It will also drop the tiny MINERVA-II robots and the French-German MASCOT landing package.
