Mission scientists in Japan are preparing to lower their Hayabusa 2 probe to the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. As part of this objective, the team will fire metal bullets into the asteroid’s gravely surface, but not without having conducted a dress rehearsal first.
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When it comes to space travel, and space in general, 2018 has been a busy year. It was one marked by remarkable technological firsts, dramatic incidents, and new milestones set. Oh, and space champagne. So, let's look back on the highlights of the year in space, 2018.
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The ion thrusters on ESA's BepiColombo spacecraft have been successfully tested in space as the probe embarks on the first leg of its epic seven-year voyage to the planet Mercury.
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The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission is on its way to Mercury, but instead of coasting to the smallest planet in the Solar System, it will be helped along by four state-of-the-art ion thrusters developed by an industrial consortium led by British company QinetiQ.
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ESA's first mission to the planet Mercury lifted off today from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. At 10:45 pm GFT (October 20, 01:45 GMT), the BepiColombo spacecraft rose on a tail of fire into the night atop an Ariane 5 booster on the start of a voyage that will take seven years.
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The tiny robots currently skipping across the surface of asteroid Ryugu have gained some company today, with mothership Hayabusa 2 successfully deploying their bigger sibling, the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT).
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For over a century people have floated the idea of a space elevator – which is exactly what it sounds like – but the logistics of that just aren’t possible yet. Now Japan has launched a pair of satellites to test out some technologies that might help make a space elevator a reality in future.
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Japan has scored a space race double first by becoming the first nation to land not one, but two rovers on an asteroid. JAXA has confirmed that both of the robotic MINERVA-II1 spacecraft successfully deployed from the unmanned Haybusa2 probe and have touched down on the asteroid Ryugu.
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Before heading in for a closer look itself, JAXA's Hayabusa 2 probe will drop a pair of small rovers onto the asteroid Ryugu this week, which will bounce across the surface and scope out the scene.
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An official launch date has been set for the long-planned BepiColombo mission to Mercury. The joint ESA/JAXA deep space probe will lift off atop an Ariane 5 rocket from the ESA Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana on October 18, 2018.
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