Hayabusa2 arrives at the carbonaceous asteroid 162173 Ryugu—A spinning top–shaped rubble pile
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency · Institute of Space and Astronautical Science · +32 more institutions
Abstract
Hayabusa2 at the asteroid Ryugu Asteroids fall to Earth in the form of meteorites, but these provide little information about their origins. The Japanese mission Hayabusa2 is designed to collect samples directly from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth for laboratory analysis. Three papers in this issue describe the Hayabusa2 team's study of the near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid 162173 Ryugu, at which the spacecraft arrived in June 2018 (see the Perspective by Wurm). Watanabe et al. measured the asteroid's mass, shape, and density, showing that it is a “rubble pile” of loose rocks, formed into a spinning-top shape during a prior period of rapid spin. They also identified suitable landing sites…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 55.61
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 60
Authors
88- SWSei‐ichiro WatanabeCorresponding
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Nagoya University
- MHMasatoshi Hirabayashi
Auburn University
- NHNaru Hirata
University of Aizu, Kobe University
- NHN. Hirata
University of Aizu, Kobe University
- RNRina Noguchi
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Topics & keywords
- Rubble
- Asteroid
- Geology
- Pile
- Ridge
- Homogeneity (statistics)
- Geotechnical engineering
- Astrobiology