Hayabusa-2’s second approach to artificial crater scheduled
Based on images obtained during the aborted early May close-in approach to the asteroid Ryugu, the Hayabusa-2 science team was able to get better imagery of the location of their man-made impact site,, and this has allowed them to both reschedule to May 28-30 the next close approach, as well as more accurately aim the spacecraft at that artificial crater.
The image on the right shows the artificial crater as the dark area inside the box labeled C01, their new target site. The S01 box was the target location for the mid-May aborted approach.
The goal of these close-in approaches is to drop a reflective target at the site, giving them a very precise reference point for the touch-and-go sample grab to follow. They were unable to make the drop on the aborted close-in approach, and will attempt it again in this week’s second attempt.
The second link above provides a detailed minute-by-minute outline of this week’s approach. As before, you can watch it happen with the live download of navigation images every thirty minutes or so. A link to that real-time image delivery will be found here.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Based on images obtained during the aborted early May close-in approach to the asteroid Ryugu, the Hayabusa-2 science team was able to get better imagery of the location of their man-made impact site,, and this has allowed them to both reschedule to May 28-30 the next close approach, as well as more accurately aim the spacecraft at that artificial crater.
The image on the right shows the artificial crater as the dark area inside the box labeled C01, their new target site. The S01 box was the target location for the mid-May aborted approach.
The goal of these close-in approaches is to drop a reflective target at the site, giving them a very precise reference point for the touch-and-go sample grab to follow. They were unable to make the drop on the aborted close-in approach, and will attempt it again in this week’s second attempt.
The second link above provides a detailed minute-by-minute outline of this week’s approach. As before, you can watch it happen with the live download of navigation images every thirty minutes or so. A link to that real-time image delivery will be found here.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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