Author: Lisa Grossman / Source: Science News

The first rovers to explore the surface of an asteroid have landed.
After touching down September 21, the vehicles took pictures of asteroid Ryugu and at least one hopped around.Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which arrived at the near-Earth asteroid on June 27 after a journey of more than three years, released the MINERVA-II1 container from a height of about 60 meters (SN Online: 6/27/18). The container then released two 18-centimeter-wide, cylindrical rovers. Because Ryugu’s gravity is so weak, the rovers can hop using rotating motors that generate a torque and send them airborne for about 15 minutes.
Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency released the first…
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