Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has just released a new video of their Hayabusa2 spacecraft touching down on Asteroid Ryugu on July 11th. The footage was captured with its monitor camera, Cam-H, pointed past the craft’s sampling mechanism. This camera was created through a collaborative effort between JAXA and the Tokyo University of Science, and installed with the help of public donations. Read more for the video and additional information.
This is a 10x speed animation captured with the small monitor camera (CAM-H) during 2nd touchdown. CAM-H was installed by public donation — thank you everyone! Image time: 2019/7/11 10:03:54 ~ 10:11:44 JST, at altitudes 8.5m ~ 150m. (📷 JAXA) https://t.co/ZrzegHABYU pic.twitter.com/owtaDxZx0m
— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) July 26, 2019
Before landing on Asteroid Ryugu, Hayabusa2 dropped a bright, white marker onto its surface to help mission staff slowly and carefully land the craft in the correct spot. After touching down it shot a tantalum bullet into the asteroid to blast up debris, which made its way into Hayabusa2’s sampler horn. The craft then lifted off, leaving the asteroid.
