A bright and fleeting life
A bright and fleeting life
.
MASCOT completes its mission in the asteroid Ryugu.
It was a fleeting adventure, since lacking any system to generate power was totally dependent on how long its internal battery lasted. For that reason it was a race against time, seeking to accumulate the maximum possible information in the time available and send it to the Hayabusa 2, which remained a few kilometers above the surface. So it was. Sleep forever in that little asteroid, and his legacy promises to be more than valuable, although for that we must wait a bit, the time it takes German Space Agency, to whom this vehicle belonged, in analyzing it completely.
At 01:58 GMT on October 3, MASCOT separated from the Hayabusa 2, beginning the descent towards Ryugu. 20 minutes later it came into contact with the surface, and as far as we know now, it ended up in a pretty bad position, head down, to the point that the temperature data were not from the asteroid, but the sensors were looking outward . Nothing worrisome, since it was designed to fall as it fell was able to get in position, although being the worst possible certainly delayed a bit the start of operations. "After a first automatic reorientation jump, he ended up in an unfavorable position. With another manual jump maneuver, we could place it in another favorable position, thanks to the oscillating arm controlled with great precision"Explained the operations manager of the mission, Christian Krause.
The good news is that the energy expenditure, once all the instruments fully active, was somewhat lower than expected, so that the duration of the mission could be extended a little longer, until 5:00 pm, more than planned, and that allowed even one more jump, the way it moved to various places on the asteroid. Among the first data already filtered, is the confirmation that Ryugu It is very rich in organic compounds. Hopefully over the next few days all the data flow sent to Hayabusa 2 and what is it transmitting to us? Among them composition, magnetic and temperature data, in addition to a total of 120 images. At the moment only a few have been published, corresponding to the minutes of descent.
In total the asteroid could for 3 of its days, each of which amounts to 7 hours and 36 minutes, and put to work their instrument equipment (camera, radiometer, magnetometer and spectrometer) at full capacity, so they were met broadly the objectives. MASCOT rest already in Ryugu, together with the two Minerva, which are still active, and soon Minerva 2, waiting for your turn. When Hayabusa 2 start the return to Earth, and therefore the communications with all of them are cut off, they will accompany him in his eternal sleep.
One of the images sent during the descent, with the shadow of the MASCOT itself visible in the upper right.
Other images already published, also during the descent.
The same moments seen by Hayabusa 2, with MASCOT appearing in the upper part of the image.
Minutes later, Hayabusa's navigation camera captured its own shadow, as did the one projected by MASCOT, still in descent.
One of the first that could be seen from the surface itself.
The robot MASCOT rests for eternity in Ryugu after exceeding expectations
SOURCE LINK ERESVIRAL.COM https://www.beviral.online
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario