Japanese spacecraft drops observation device onto asteroid

◗ The spacecraft went as close as about 50 meters ( 160 feet) to the asteroid’s surface to release the box- shaped lander

Tokyo, Oct. 3: A German- French observation device safely landed on an asteroid on Wednesday after a Japanese spacecraft released it as part of a research effort that could find clues about the origin of the solar system, Japanese space officials said.

The Japan Space Exploration Agency said the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, was released from the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 and successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu.

The spacecraft went as close as about 50 meters ( 160 feet) to the asteroid’s surface to release the box- shaped lander. Hayabusa2 has been stationed near the asteroid since June after traveling 280 million kilometers ( 170 million miles) from Earth.

About an hour after the separation, the space agency, known as JAXA, said it had received signals from MASCOT, an indication of its safe landing.

JAXA's Hayabusa project manager, Yuichi Tsuda, confirmed the landing at a news conference. JAXA collaborated with the German Aerospace Center and France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales in the MASCOT project.

The lander’s deployment follows the successful landing last month of two MINERVAII1 observation rovers that have transmitted images.

Hayabusa2 dropped MASCOT on the opposite hemisphere from the rovers so they don't interfere with each other's activity, JAXA said.

It took more than three years for the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to reach the asteroid's vicinity. Hayabusa2 will later attempt to briefly land on the asteroid itself to collect samples to send back to researchers.