Current Affairs - Science - Discussion

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) landed a pair of rovers on an asteroid, marking the world's first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid surface. The two rovers Hayabusa2 managed to land on the asteroid are expected to take advantage of the low gravity and jump around the surface, reaching heights of up to 15 meters. The small compact MINERVA-II1(MIcro Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid, the second generation) rovers separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The MINERVA-II 1 consists of two rovers, Rover-1A and Rover-1B. The Hayabusa2 probe was launched in December 2014 to explore the surface of the asteroid known as Ryugu. If all goes well, the Hayabusa2 will return to earth with soil and rock samples in 2020.