A Japanese Probe Is Closing in on an Asteroid 180 Million Miles from Earth

[Baclava]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) released several new images that Hayabusa2 snapped recently of the asteroid Ryugu, whose shape has now become clear.

"From a distance, Ryugu initially appeared round, then gradually turned into a square before becoming a beautiful shape similar to fluorite (known as the 'firefly stone' in Japanese)," Hayabusa2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda wrote in a description of the newest photos, which the probe took from as close as 25 miles (40 kilometers).

"Now, craters are visible, rocks are visible and the geographical features are seen to vary from place to place," Tsuda added. "This form of Ryugu is scientifically surprising and also poses a few engineering challenges."

Hayabusa2 will also spiral down to collect samples from the fresh crater. If all goes according to plan, these samples will come down to Earth in a special return capsule near the end of 2020.





https://www.space.com/40987-japan-hayabusa2-asteroid-probe-closes-on-ryugu.html

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wait...is that the Borg cube?

Run away!

[jberryhill]

1. Probably an alien spaceship

....which will consider the Japanese probe hostile, and then seek revenge by deploying mechanical robot monsters to destroy Tokyo.

[Baclava]

2. Our pictures are prettier

NASA reveals stunning images of Jupiter taken by the Juno spacecraft







https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/nasa-reveals-stunning-images-of-jupiter-taken-by-the-juno-spacecraft-a3871271.html

[rock]

3. The photos look like Japanese art

Amazing!