3 ms·
It's a sample return mission! They're actually going to try to bring bits of the asteroid back to earth
by nerfhammer 8y ago
It's a sample return mission! They're actually going to try to bring bits of the asteroid back to earth
- not_kurt_godel 8y agoAccording to Wikipedia[1], there are 2 separate sampling phases - one where it fires a bullet into the asteroid and collects the ejecta, and another where it will use 4.5kg of plastic explosives to blow a 2m crater in the asteroid, into which it will descend. As a laymen, the level of complexity in this mission is really astounding, both with respect to the sampling protocols and the 4(!) other rovers it has. It makes me nervous to think about how many things could potentially go catastrophically wrong, especially after what happened with Rosetta & Philae. I'd be curious to read an informed comparison of Hayabusa2 vs. Rosetta/Philae and understand the rationale for Japan attempting a seemingly hugely more complicated and risky mission. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa2#Sampling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa2#Sampling