Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Japan Has Attempted To Land Two Tiny Rovers On a Distant Asteroid (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the suspense-is-killing-me dept.

On Friday, Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft attempted to deploy two miniature rovers on an asteroid that it's been orbiting since mid-August. Ars Technica reports: Each weighed only about a kilogram, and after separating from the main spacecraft they approached the asteroid named Ryugu. Japanese mission scientists think the rovers touched down successfully, but are not completely sure. Communication with the two landers stopped near the moment of touchdown. This is presumably because Ryugu's rotation took the rovers out of view from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, but scientists won't know for sure until later Friday (or Saturday morning, in Japan) when they attempt to download images from the rovers. And thus we are left with a suspenseful situation.

20 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Still No Word by mentil · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's Saturday morning in the USA now, and it still hasn't been announced if they made it. When they spend this many hours not announcing success, that usually means there was a problem. Their Twitter feed talks about the Hayabusa2 returning to its normal distance, but says nothing of the rovers.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Still No Word by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      or they found something amazing that cannot be revealed yet to the average citizen.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re:Still No Word by jrumney · · Score: 4, Informative

      The communication rate from Hayabusa2 is currently 4kbps. They are probably still waiting for the first image to download so they can release it to the press.

    3. Re:Still No Word by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      A 3 inch monolith, perhaps.

    4. Re:Still No Word by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      Right... 100 billion asteroids out there.. But this one has aliens on it....

    5. Re:Still No Word by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Right... 100 billion asteroids out there.. But this one has aliens on it....

      And out of those 100 billion asteroids, how many have been visited by humans?

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    6. Re:Still No Word by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      More than one.

  2. Twitter: Both rovers are confirmed to have landed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    https://twitter.com/haya2e_jaxa
    "
    We are sorry we have kept you waiting! MINERVA-II1 consists of two rovers, 1a & 1b. Both rovers are confirmed to have landed on the surface of Ryugu. They are in good condition and have transmitted photos & data. We also confirmed they are moving on the surface. #asteroidlanding
    5:47 AM - 22 Sep 2018
    "

  3. Successful landing confirmed by Severus+Snape · · Score: 3, Informative

    Rovers have beamed back images to Hayabusa2.

  4. What's Amazing by vtcodger · · Score: 1

    As I understand it the asteroid (Ryugu) is about 1km in diameter. What amazes me is that the landers can land in the first place.without drifting off and can have any moving parts without displacing themselves in the minuscule gravity. Obviously the Japanese understand all that and have made due allowance. Still it's impressive.

    --
    You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  5. Under Whelming Engineering by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    could not engineer a simple device with one job of retrieving an ore sample from a passing probe and returning to ISS? Really?!

    1. Re:Under Whelming Engineering by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      ...what? Have you woken up yet, or are you still drunk?

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:Under Whelming Engineering by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      Poor little monkey, smelling the bodily fluids on your hand again? If you could demonstrate an ability to at least read at an 12 year old level, and your less complex brain cavity could show us that you can go to another web page by clicking on the web anchor stated in TFA, then maybe we could clap at your performance of siting from the web article, return to Earth about a year later, landing in a remote part of Australia. all the while your handler generates sound using some hand cranked box.

      but you can not. or you would have done it already.

    3. Re:Under Whelming Engineering by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      Poor A/C, it is obvious that you have not even tried.

    4. Re:Under Whelming Engineering by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Perhaps if you knew anything about space exploration and orbital mechanics you might have an inkling of how much harder it would be to do what you're suggesting.

      If you could demonstrate an ability to at least read at an 12 year old level

      The problem is that you're not demonstrating an ability to write at the level of a 12-year-old.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    5. Re:Under Whelming Engineering by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      So you're saying that you read /. for its literary content? That's funny, thanks.

    6. Re:Under Whelming Engineering by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      I have no idea what point you're trying to make with that comment.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  6. Tiny rovers? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    I thought we were living in the 'giant SUVs' time.

  7. Re:Fan-Fucking-Tastic! by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

    What's your point? Do you think they are sending the bits one at a time?

  8. Re: Prot: I travel light. by youngone · · Score: 1

    It sounds foolish but the evidence to this is more vetted than any historical fact and more attested to than any act in history.

    You're right.
    It does sound foolish. It also sounds like bullshit.