Hi Ryugu: Japanese spacecraft snaps crazy pictures of asteroid’s surface

Have you ever wondered what the surface of an asteroid looks like? Well, you’re in luck.

The Japanese space agency Jaxa published new pictures taken from an asteroid called Ryugu. The snaps were taken by two little robotic rovers, hopping around on the giant rock’s surface.

The remarkable thing though: you probably wouldn’t know these pictures were from the surface of another space body if we didn’t tell you.

This image was taken just before Rover-1B hopped. Photograph snapped on September 23, 2018 at about 09:46 JST [2/6] pic.twitter.com/m8S3cyYFq6

— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 27, 2018

Ryugu’s surface looks remarkably similar to rock formations found on Earth.

Rover-1B succeeded in shooting a movie on Ryugu’s surface! The movie has 15 frames captured on September 23, 2018 from 10:34 – 11:48 JST. Enjoy ‘standing’ on the surface of this asteroid! [6/6] pic.twitter.com/57avmjvdVa

— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 27, 2018

It may look like Earth from the surface, but getting to Ryugu wasn’t an easy task.

Jaxa launched the Hayabusa 2 probe — carrying the two rovers — some three years ago. It has been in close proximity to the asteroid since June but only this week released the rovers on its surface.

The asteroid, which was discovered in 1999, is around 800 metres in diameter. It can usually be found following the Sun within Earth and Mars’ orbits.

Expect a number of snaps from the little hopping rovers in the course of the next few weeks, but for now, enjoy these new snaps of the surface of an asteroid taken by human beings.

Feature image: Jaxa’s Hayabusa2 Mission