Japan's Hayabusa 2 Successfully Touches Down On Ryugu Asteroid, Fires Bullet Into Its Surface (theguardian.com) 54
Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has successfully touched down on the asteroid Ryugu at around 11:30 GMT on Thursday. "Data from the probe showed changes in speed and direction, indicating it had reached the asteroid's surface, according to officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)," reports The Guardian. From the report: The probe was due to fire a bullet at the Ryugu asteroid, to stir up surface matter, which it will then collect for analysis back on Earth. The asteroid is thought to contain relatively large amounts of organic matter and water from some 4.6 billion years ago when the solar system was born. The complicated procedure took less time than expected and appeared to go without a hitch, said Hayabusa 2 mission manager Makoto Yoshikawa. The spacecraft is seeking to gather 10g of the dislodged debris with an instrument named the Sampler Horn that hangs from its underbelly. Whatever material is collected by the spacecraft will be stored onboard until Hayabusa 2 reaches its landing site in Woomera, South Australia, in 2020 after a journey of more than three billion miles. UPDATE: JAXA says it successfully fired a "bullet" into Ryugu, collecting the disturbed material. "JAXA scientists had expected to find a powdery surface on Ryugu, but tests showed that the asteroid is covered in larger gravel," reports CNN. "As a result the team had to carry out a simulation to test whether the projectile would be capable of disturbing enough material to be collected by [the Sampler Horn]. The team is planning a total of three sampling events over the next few weeks."
Success (Score:3, Informative)
I heard the mission was largely a success, except that Bruce Willis didn't make it back.
Re: Success (Score:5, Insightful)
Best of luck. It is encouraging to see more space activity from multiple countries.
Go Japan! Go Israel!
Re: (Score:2)
Welcome to traffic shaping!
The more you pay, the better I'll shape your traffic.
Seriously although, I like the idea of a low priority lane in space and I find the whole concept damn smart.
Re:Success (Score:4, Funny)
AXA says it successfully fired a "bullet" into Ryugu,
Ryugu responded by issuing a statement this this was a date which will live in infamy, when our peaceful asteroid was suddenly and deliberately attacked by space forces of the Empire of Japan.
Mom's Demand Action (Score:1)
Mom's Demand Action and Handgun Control, Inc are planning to protest.
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Ryugu responded by issuing a statement this this was a date which will live in infamy
"The shot heard round the galaxy"
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At least they didn't rape it.
(Waiting for AmiMoJo to justify what the nip bastards did at Nanking)
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"All in all, a 100% successful trip!"
"But Sir, we lost Mr Rimmer"
"All in all, a 100% successful trip!"
It's not gravel. (Score:2)
It's a nest of discarded K-cups, Pokemon balls surrounding Godzilla eggs. And Mama is pissed you just shot it. Yolk's on you.. Oh no, there goes Tokyo. Go go Godzilla.
Re: (Score:1)
all three are 'dark skinned'. are we sure this isn't an american mission?
Fires bullet..?: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
" Put a gun against it's head"
put a gun against that extra apostrophe
pull the trigger
now it's its
it's means it is
Fired a bullet... (Score:1, Offtopic)
and YouTube immediately demonetized them.
{O,o}
Re: (Score:2)
Well, aren't they lucky that the Japanese taxpayer spares a few bucks a year to supplement their youtube income.
Dear Asteroid (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Asteroid: The dinosaurs say "HELLO" *bang*
Hmm.. (Score:3, Funny)
#BanAssaultProbes
Wise? (Score:2)
Re:Wise? (Score:4, Insightful)
You're watching too many movies. Very unlikely there's anything dangerous on outside of asteroid, constantly exposed to radiation. Secondly, they will take plenty of precautions to avoid contamination. Also, almost impossible to get something from space to the ISS.
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So what you're saying is you think there's a chance of space monsters lurking under the surface in the center of asteroids?
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The chance of life on the inside is slightly higher than on the outside, but still extremely slim. And even if there's a life form, that doesn't mean it could survive on Earth (oxygen could be toxic to it, or it may not be able to find any nutrients). And even if it could survive, that doesn't mean it's a threat. An alien virus would not be compatible with our biochemistry, for instance.
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I, for one, welcome our new asteroid dwelling overlords...
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Dude, if you liked that you'll love this:
In Soviet Russia, asteroid dwelling overlords welcome YOU!
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Do they think it's wise to bring an organic sample from the astroid down here to earth? Wouldn't it be safer to first check it out at ISS, so if something is wrong with the sample we won't have a big dissaster on our hands here on earth.
Damn Skippy. Why else do we pay these space canaries, errr, astronauts.
Gravel vs. powder (Score:2)
And like typical humans (Score:2)
we fire first. Now wonder we can't have nice first contacts as no alien nation wants to be shot on sight.