Last week, the MINERVA-II1 exploded from the Hayabusa2, landed on the Ryugu meteorite. The MINERVA-II1 consists of two small surface probes, Rover-1A and Rover-1B. The Japanese space agency JAXA (which has existed and developed since the 1950s) correctly confirmed that the two probes were in good condition and capable of transmitting signals. Analysis of information shows that at least one probe is moving on the surface of Ryugu.
More noteworthy: The MINERVA-II1 is the first human probe to land on a meteorite, sending the first images of the surface of a celestial body, a dozen from the celestial body itself. For these reasons, MINERVA-II1 officially became "the first artificial object to study the movement of meteorites from the surface of the subject."
Both Rover-1A and Rover-1B are operating in parallel. Here are the images sent by the surveyor:
The image is colored from Rover-1A, taken at the time it leaves the spacecraft. Hayabusa2 is at the top, the greenish side below is the surface of Ryugu's body. As the probe was spinning, the image was a little blurry. The picture from Rover-1B, as it left the spacecraft, brought two probes to the Ryugu meteorite. Ryugu's surface is underneath, the opening in the upper left corner is caused by sunlight.
The camera of the MINERVA-II1 can capture color images. In Figure 1, the little watermark is due to the probe's rotation, you can see the Hayabusa 2 and its two green solar wings. In Figure 3, you can see that the train is jumping a short distance to move on the Ryugu surface.
The project is taking place right now. If there is any good information, JAXA will immediately inform the scientific community.
Information and photos are taken from the Hayabusa project homepage2. Congratulations to the Japanese who have succeeded in the "first of humanity" project!
