Hayabusa2

Why is it in news?
  • A Japanese spacecraft, Hayabusa2, launched an explosive device at an asteroid, aiming to blast a crater in the surface and scoop up material that could shed light on how the solar system evolved.
More in news
  • Risky mission: The mission was risky as the spacecraft had to immediately move away so as to avoid getting hit by flying shards from the blast.
  • Mission details:
    (1) Hayabusa2 successfully released the so-called “small carry-on impactor” — a cone-shaped device capped with a copper bottom — as scheduled, as the probe hovered just 500 metres above the asteroid Ryugu.
    (2) The impactor was programmed to explode 40 minutes later, propelling the copper bottom towards Ryugu, where it should gouge a crater into the surface of the asteroid that spins 300 million kilometres from Earth.
    (3) Hayabusa2 moved smartly away from the area to avoid being damaged by debris from the explosion or colliding with Ryugu.
  • About Hayabusa2: Its already covered in previous editions.
Source
The Hindu




Posted by Jawwad Kazi on 6th Apr 2019
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