JAXA and Toyota have announced that they have agreed to a joint study of the concept for a manned lunar rover for long-range Moon exploration. With a range of 10,000 km (6,200 mi), the rover would be about the size of two minibuses and could carry two passengers, or up to four in an emergency.
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released footage of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft descending and making contact with the primordial asteroid Ryugu. During the rendezvous, the probe shot a bullet into the surface to kick up a sample for return to Earth sometime late in 2020.
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Japan’s trailblazing Hayabusa 2 space probe has captured physical evidence of the trail it has blazed, snapping an awe-inspiring photograph of a discolored touchdown zone moments after its rendezvous with the asteroid Ryugu.
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Mission scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are celebrating today, after data from its Hayabusa 2 probe confirmed a successfully touchdown on its target, a kilometer-wide near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu.
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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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