Subj : Daily APOD Report To : All From : Ben Ritchey Date : Thu Nov 01 2018 05:55:19 Astronomy Picture of the Day Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2018 November 1 Hayabusa2 Ascends from Asteroid Ryugu Image Credit: JAXA [2] , U. Tokyo [3] , Kochi U. [4] , Rikkyo U. [5] , Nagoya U. [6] , Chiba Tech., Meiji U. [8] , U. Aizu [9] , AIST [10] Explanation: Will spacecraft Hayabusa2 be able to land safely on asteroid Ryugu? Since arriving in June, pictures show that the surface of kilometer-sized Ryugu [11] is covered with boulder [12] s, so that finding a flat enough area for the bus-sized spacecraft [13] to touch down is proving a challenge [14] . In the featured video [15] , the shadow of Japan's [16] robotic Hayabusa2 [17] can be seen on the rugged face of Ryugu [18] while ascending last week from a touchdown rehearsal only 20 meters over the surface. Previously, small frisbee [19] -sized landers detached from Hayabusa2, made contact with the diamond-shaped asteroid's surface [20] , and started hopping [21] around. Studying Ryugu [22] could tell humanity [23] not only about the minor planet [24] 's surface and interior, but about what materials were available in the early Solar System [25] for the development of life [26] . The touchdown of the Hayabusa2 mother ship is slated for [27] early next year, hopefully followed by a soil sample collection for return to Earth. Tomorrow's picture: star smoke ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- < [28] | Archive [29] | Submissions [30] | Index [31] | Search [32] | Calendar [33] | RSS [34] | Education [35] | About APOD [36] | Discuss [37] | > [38] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [39] (MTU [40] ) & Jerry Bonnell [41] (UMCP [42] ) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [43] . NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [44] A service of: ASD [45] at NASA [46] / GSFC [47] & Michigan Tech. U. [48] ---------- Site notes: [1] archivepix.html [2] http://global.jaxa.jp/about/index.html [3] https://www.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/story/newsletter/attraction/05.html [4] http://www.kochi-u.ac.jp/english/ [5] http://english.rikkyo.ac.jp/academics/undergraduate/science/ [6] https://www.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/ [7] https://www.it-chiba.ac.jp/english/ [8] http://www.isc.meiji.ac.jp/~physics/indexjp_e.htm [9] http://www.u-aizu.ac.jp/en/ [10] https://www.aist.go.jp/index_en.html [11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162173_Ryugu [12] ap180507.html [13] http://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/hayabusa2/ [14] http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/ryugu-sample-dicey.html [15] http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20181030e_TD1R3_CAMH/ [16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan [17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa2 [18] ap180822.html [19] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCeBkn7hjbM [20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHvDO_fzZLs [21] ap180924.html [22] http://global.jaxa.jp/article/2014/interview/vol88/ [23] https://twitter.com/haya2e_jaxa [24] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/asteroids/in-depth/ [25] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/in-depth/ [26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis [27] http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/news/schedule/ [28] ap181031.html [29] archivepix.html [30] lib/apsubmit2015.html [31] lib/aptree.html [32] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search [33] calendar/allyears.html [34] /apod.rss [35] lib/edlinks.html [36] lib/about_apod.html [37] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=181101 [38] ap181102.html [39] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html [40] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ [41] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html [42] http://www.astro.umd.edu/ [43] lib/about_apod.html#srapply [44] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html [45] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ [46] https://www.nasa.gov/ [47] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ [48] http://www.mtu.edu/ --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A39 (Windows/32) * Origin: FIDONet - The Positronium Repository (1:393/68) .