After first contact with the surface: the landing site environment
After first contact with the surface: the landing site environment
The fifth image acquired by the DLR-developed MASCAM camera system (right) was taken shortly after the first contact with the ground, just a few metres above the surface of Ryugu. The line of sight is directed to the northwest and is located between the two white boundary lines in the overview image (left) acquired by the wide-angle camera of the ONC (Optical Navigation Camera) system on board Hayabusa2. Just as in the images from higher altitudes, no fine material, known as regolith, can be seen, even in the immediate vicinity of the surface. Regolith is formed on atmosphere-less bodies due to their permanent exposure to high-energy particles from space or micrometeorites due to the weathering of coarser material into dust. Instead, the area is extremely rugged and full of sharp blocks. The landing site environment is reminiscent of the Abydos landing site of the Philae lander, which was released on Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft on 12 November 2014.
