Japan sets dates for asteroid touchdown

[Still Waters]

The Japanese space agency has set dates for its historic plan to explore the surface of an asteroid with robots.

The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft reached the asteroid Ryugu in June this year after a three-and-a-half-year journey to the spinning top-shaped space rock.

Officials have picked days in September and October for the deployment of separate robotic landing craft from the Hayabusa 2 "mothership".

The robots will be despatched to separate locations on the asteroid.

If all goes well, they will be the first landing craft to gather data from the surface of an asteroid.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45363130

Previously:

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/318556-hayabusa-2-at-asteroid-ryugu/