The Guardian, UK
Two Japanese robots have sent back their first video images from the surface of a moving asteroid as part of an unprecedented mission aimed at shedding light on the origins of the solar system. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) released the 15-frame clip along with new photographs days after the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 deployed the rovers on to the asteroid’s surface after a three-and-a-half year journey.
The mission marks the world’s first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid surface, according to Jaxa. Images on the mission’s Twitter account show a mixture of boulders and relatively smooth patches on the surface of Ryugu asteroid, framed by a black sky.
Jaxa also posted the highest resolution photographs to date of Ryugu’s surface, taken with Hayabusa2’s onboard camera as it approached the asteroid in preparation to release the rovers.
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