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| The future of space development opened by Hayabusa2 |
The project team of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which brought back samples from the asteroid Ryugu and showed the potential of Japan's space development, was disbanded at the end of June. Hayabusa2 is heading for the next asteroid, but the team that has supported it on the ground has reached a major break. I would like to look back on what Hayabusa2 opened up in two parts.
Success criteria "Is it really possible?"
"I am pleased with what has been done so far. I am grateful to Ryugu for now, and I am also grateful to the team members and everyone who supported me."
A press conference held on June 29 at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Sagamihara City. Yuichi Tsuda, a 47-year-old project manager, who is in charge of Hayabusa2, said.
In the material, all 11 success criteria set before the launch were painted in green, which means that they were achieved.The meaning of "achievement" differs greatly between the predecessor Hayabusa and Hayabusa2.
At Hayabusa, the idea of bringing samples back from an asteroid was so ambitious that NASA wouldn't even touch it, and was thought to be "impossible to complete."
For this reason, we adopted a "point addition method" that evaluates each successful point. 50 points when the ion engine is running, 200 points when rendezvous to the asteroid, and so on, depending on the progress of the mission, and if a sample of the asteroid can be obtained, the perfect score is "500 points".
On the other hand, Hayabusa2 set more detailed and challenging goals as a success criterion based on the achievements of its predecessor.
For four fields that span science and engineering, there are three levels of criteria (three levels (minimum) pass, (2) complete (full) success, and (1) challenge to the level of complete success (extra). And set all 11 items. In (1), "something that makes me think" Is it really possible "" (Mr. Tsuda) that exposes and collects the underground material of Ryugu is also included.
I also faced an unpredictable situation. Ryugu was full of rocks and there were few places where it could land safely. In some cases, the altimeter could not measure the distance to the surface well and the landing was canceled."I wanted to create a team that could overcome any celestial body, but Ryugu resented it because of the rigor that betrayed our imagination," (Mr. Tsuda). However, not only did he clear all 11 items, but he also achieved the "world's first" that was not listed in 11 items, such as "landing with an accuracy of 60 cm" on a celestial body 300 million kilometers away.
