Spacewatch: asteroid landing explores a missing link
by Stuart Clark from on (#405RE)
In the weak gravity, it took the Mascot lander 20 minutes to fall 51 metres to the surface - taking photos and readings
A German-French lander has arrived safely on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu, 300m kilometres from Earth. The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (Mascot) is about the size of a shoebox and weighs 9kg. It was developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and built in cooperation with the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) in France. It was carried to the asteroid by Hayabusa2, a spacecraft built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Related: Spacewatch: Ryugu, an asteroid under close inspection
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