
Hayabusa-2: Japan’s rovers ready for touchdown on asteroid - jonbaer
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45578795
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invalidusernam3
I knew these little rovers were small, but I didn't realise how small:

1.1 kg

Diameter: 18 cm

Height: 7 cm

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r721
Photos:
[http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180922e/](http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180922e/)

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drawkbox
Interesting technique for movement

 _Gravity on the surface of Ryugu is very weak, so a rover propelled by normal
wheels or crawlers would float upwards as soon as it started to move.
Therefore this hopping mechanism was adopted for moving across the surface of
such small celestial bodies. The rover is expected to remain in the air for up
to 15 minutes after a single hop before landing, and to move up to 15 m
horizontally._

[http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180919e/](http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180919e/)

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Ftuuky
I guess this is the actual beginning of asteroid mining, it's so exciting.

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computerex
No it's not the beginning of asteroid mining. What in the world gave you that
impression? There have been several other sample return missions in the past,
this isn't the first one.

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dmos62
> MINERVA-II1 is the world’s first rover (mobile exploration robot) to land on
> the surface of an asteroid.

[http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180922e/](http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20180922e/)

If the other missions took samples and returned without a rover, I wonder how.

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computerex
Instead of wondering you can look it up on the internet.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample-
return_mission](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample-return_mission)

