The MINERVA-II1 rovers were deployed on September 21 to explore the surface of asteroid Ryugu. Here is the second report on their activities, following our preliminary article at the start of this week.

1. Rover-1B hop

Fig1

Figure 1. Images taken by Rover-1B. September 23, 2018: confirmation of Rover-1B hop.
Observation time (JST): (Left) 2018-09-23 09:50, (Center) 2018-09-23 09:55, (Right) 2018-09-23 10:00
(Image credit: JAXA)

2. Image captured immediately before hop of Rover-1B

Fig2

Figure 2. September 23, 2018: image captured immediately before hop of Rover-1B. 2018-9-23 09:46 (JST). (Image credit: JAXA)

3. Surface image from Rover-1B after landing

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Figure 3. September 23, 2018 at 10:10 JST: surface image from Rover-1B after landing
(Image credit: JAXA)

For more images and a video that shows the Sun moving across the sky as seen from the surface of Ryugu, please visit Hayabusa2 project site.