After three hops in three twenty-four hours , the littleMASCOTlander has completed its short but of import mission on asteroid Ryugu . But not before sending mickle of data to the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft to be curtly analyse by scientist . MASCOT , which stands forMobile Asteroid Surface Scout , transcend even the expectations of the French - German squad that constructed it , lasting longer than plan .
The lander was designed to last for 16 hours after separation from the Nipponese mothercraft , but it lasted more than 17 hour in the end . This admit the researchers to make it hop to three different locations on the asteroid , collecting important data on the opus and nature of the asteroid ’s open .
" With MASCOT , it has been possible to , for the first sentence , search the surface of an asteroid directly on site so extensively , " Hansjörg Dittus , German Space Center ( DLR ) Executive Board Member for Space Research and Technology , said in astatement . " A mission like this can only be done working in close-fitting cooperation with international partners – bringing together all their expertise and commitment . "
The lander reached the open of the asteroid on the early morning of October 3 . It landed in an unfavorable position so the squad used its mechanical arm to make it hop to a better one . It collected data point for a full asteroid daylight ( about 7 hours ) and then hopped to a nearby emplacement where it continued its primary deputation . In particular , it snapped pictures that will be used in creating stereoscopic views of the asteroid . At the end of that , the squad agnize that MASCOT had enough juice left to seek a more daring tactics and they made it jump further , where it continue to read the asteroid .
" The evaluation of the worthful data has just begin , " say MASCOT project manager Tra - Mi Ho from the DLR Institute of Space Systems . " We will study a lot about the past of the Solar System and the importance of near - Earth asteroids like Ryugu . Today , I look forward to the scientific publication that will result from MASCOT and the remarkable Hayabusa-2 mission of our Nipponese spouse . "
While MASCOT had a non - rechargeable battery , the other two asteroid explorers deploy by Hayabusa-2 are solar - powered and they continue their investigation of this primordial inhabitant of the Solar System .
