Japan successfully lands rovers on asteroid Ryugu

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Japan confirmed it successfully landed two small rovers released from its Hayabusa 2 probe on the surface of an asteroid.

Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, shared photos taken by its MINERVA-II1A and MINERVA-II1B from the surface of the asteroid Ryugu on Saturday.

"We confirmed that both aircraft landed on the surface of the asteroid ryugu. Both rovers are in good condition, they are sending photographs and various data taken," JAXA said.

With the successful landing the MINERVA rovers became the first ever mobile robots to conduct observations on an asteroid.

The rovers maneuver by hopping and will send back data about the asteroid using cameras and instruments, including temperature and optical sensors.

"The good news made me so happy," Hayabusa2 project spokesperson Takashi Kubota said. "The image taken by MINERVA-II-1 during a hop allowed me to relax as a dream of many years came true. I felt awed by what we had achieved in Japan."

JAXA said operations of the MINERVA-II will continue in the future, as it plans to acquire more data and proceed with the analysis.

The Hayabusa2 is also scheduled to deploy a bigger lander called MASCOT in October, following the successful landing.