Japanese space hoppers capture the sun moving across an asteroid sky

By Sam Wong

Japan’s twin MINERVA-II rovers are still beaming back stunning scenes from asteroid Ryugu. Above is the first film shot on an asteroid, a time-lapse video showing the sun moving across the sky, with lens flare JJ Abrams would be proud of.

The rovers landed on the space rock on 21 September. Since then they have been hopping across its rugged terrain and sending back photos of the alien environment.

The surface of the asteroid — The MINERVA-II landers are hopping across the surface.

One of the images (below) shows the shadow of a rover’s antenna and pin, a part of the design that increases friction when hopping and protects the solar cells during landing.

The shadow of the lander's pin and antenna — The shadow of the lander’s pin and antenna

The early progress of the mission has been exciting, but there is plenty more to come. Hayabusa 2, the mothership of the two landers, is due to make a landing itself in late October, to collect samples that will eventually be returned to Earth.

Advertisement