MASCOT descends to the surface of asteroid Ryugu

This series of images was taken by the small (38 x 28 x 20 cm) MASCOT lander as it descended to the surface of the asteroid Ryugu on Oct 23, 2018. It descended 41 meters from its mothership (the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2) to the surface below. It saw two basic kinds of rocks; dark, rough ones with shiny mineral bits inside, and brighter rocks with flat face and sharp edges. Some of the images just show bright reflections inside the camera, but most show the surface texture of an alien world. A tiny one just 1000 meters across, but a world nonetheless.

Credit: MASCOT/DLR/JAXA (CCA 3.0)

Original video:

More info on my Bad Astronomy blog:

Space,astronomy,space exploration,asteroids,Ryugu,Hayabusa2,JAXA,