[U] Japan's Triumph, In Asteroid Exploration Science / Space Landers: Hayabusa, 1 And 2 -- On Ryugu...

Last Friday, at about 200 feet above the asteroid, Hayabusa-2 initiated the release of the two robots that will survey and photograph the small space rock. All went perfectly, and images are being returned, by the two frying pan sized bouncing landers.

Once again from the Beeb:

. . . .Rover 1A and Rover 1B will move around by hopping in Ryugu's low gravity; they will capture images of the surface and measure temperatures.

Hayabusa-2 reached the asteroid Ryugu in June this year after a three-and-a-half-year journey.

The 1km-wide space rock known formally as 162173 Ryugu belongs to a particularly primitive type of asteroid, and is therefore a relic left over from the early days of our Solar System. Studying it could shed light on the origin and evolution of our own planet. . . .

Excellent -- onward. Let all the best -- rise, and show their astro-engineering chops. . . smile.

JAXA Twitter feed, including a 14 frame movie from the surface!

नमस्ते