TOKYO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Two small robotic rovers were released from the space probe Hayabusa2 towards the asteroid Ryugu, Japan's space agency said Friday.
According to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the two MINERVA-II-1 rovers are expected to land on the asteroid, which is about 300 million kilometers from Earth, and take images of the asteroid and perform other functions such as measuring its surface temperature.
The space agency also said it wants to test the propulsion system of the rovers, ahead of the planned landing of the probe on the asteroid in late October.
JAXA said they will know on Saturday whether the mission has been successful, based on whether the images of the 900 meter diameter asteroid captured are beamed back to earth.
Each rover is about 18 centimeters in diameter, 7 cm in height and weighs around one kilogram. They have been designed to "hop" along the surface of the asteroid as its low gravity would complicate the traditional way such robotic explorers usually roll on wheels or tracks. Enditem
