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Hayabusa 2: Asteroid image shows touchdown marks
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47359152Hayabusa 2: Asteroid image shows touchdown marks
By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website
6 hours ago
A new image from Japan's Hayabusa-2 spacecraft reveals a dark splodge where it touched down on the surface of an asteroid last week. The discolouration could have been caused by grit being blown upwards by the spacecraft's thrusters, or by the bullet it fired into the ground.
(snip)
During sample collection, the spacecraft approached the 1km-wide asteroid with an instrument called the sampler horn. On touchdown, a 5g "bullet" made of the metal tantalum was fired into the rocky surface at 300m/s. The particles kicked up by the impact should have been be caught by the sampler horn.
The spacecraft then ascended to its home position of about 20km distance from the asteroid's surface.
The image is further, visual confirmation that the touchdown proceeded to plan.
(snip)
