“Hayabusa 2” tomorrow asteroid departure to Earth return around the end of next year, November 12 16:29
Regarding the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 that has successfully landed twice on the asteroid, JAAXA announced that it will leave the asteroid on the 13th to return to Earth at the end of next year. did.
The Japanese spacecraft “Hayabusa 2” arrives at the asteroid “Ryugu” over three and a half years and successfully returns to the earth after about one and a half years of exploration. We were preparing for.
JAXA held a conference on the 12th and announced that Hayabusa2 will enter the stage of return from 13th and will leave Ryugu.
On the 13th, the engine for controlling the posture was injected after 10:00 am and moved away from Ryugu. After about two weeks from the 20th of this month, the main engine ion engine was put into test operation, next month, 3 We plan to launch the ion engine in earnest after the day and head to the earth. In addition, the camera will be used as the “farewell observation” when moving away from “Ryugu”.
“Hayabusa 2” is planned to separate the capsules containing rock fragments and sand of “Ryugu” that seems to have been collected during the landing from November to December next year, and drop them into the Australian desert. Rock shards are to be analyzed in detail by domestic researchers.
JAXA Yuichi Tsuda Project Manager said, “The main engine has not been running for a year and a half, so I want to make a full-scale test after a thorough test. To drop the capsule onto the earth, high accuracy is required. I want to achieve a return for the researchers who analyze. "