Nov 13, 2019

Hayabusa2 departs from Ryugu

JAXA confirmed Hayabusa2, JAXA's asteroid explorer, left the target asteroid Ryugu.

On November 13, 2019, JAXA operated Hayabusa2 chemical propulsion thrusters for the spacecraft's orbit control.* The confirmation of the Hayabusa2 departure made at 10:05 a.m. (Japan Standard Time, JST) was based on the following data analyses;

·The thruster operation of Hayabusa2 occurred nominally
·The velocity leaving from Ryugu is approximately 9.2 cm/s
·The status of Hayabusa2 is normal

We are planning to conduct performance tests of onboard instruments, including the electric propulsion system, for the return to Earth.

(*) Hayabusa2 operation hours: 8:00 a.m. (JST) through 13:30 p.m. (JST), November 13. The thruster operation was pre-programmed in the event sequence earlier on the day, and the command was automatically executed.
　