Japan drops explosive on an asteroid to study it - The Beats

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Saturday, April 6, 2019

Japan drops explosive on an asteroid to study it

 Artist representation of the Hayabusa-2 working on the asteroid 'Ryugu'. (Image Source - JAXA, Akihiro Ikeshita)
Friday morning saw Japan detonate a small explosive on the asteroid 'Ryugu'. The goal was to create a crater which will be studied later to better understand how the planets were formed in the early solar system. The Hayabusa-2, Japan's spacecraft is said to have carried out the operation on 'Ryugu, an asteroid that is a remnant of the early solar system and may be about 4.5 billion years old. This asteroid is located between the Earth and Mars.




The explosive device, called the Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI), was released from Hayabusa-2. The SCI, a 14kg conical container, was packed with plastic explosive intended to punch a 10m-wide hole in the asteroid. The probe also left behind a camera to observe the explosion and send back a few photographs to Earth.

Friday's mission was the riskiest one yet for Hayabusa-2, as it also had to get away from the point of impact in order to avoid getting hit from the flying shards of the blast. Earlier, Hayabusa-2 had landed on 'Ryugu' in February this year and fired a bullet into its surface for further research.

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