Image copyright JAXA, Uni Tokyo & collaborators Image caption Hayabusa-2 arrived at the asteroid 162173 Ryugu in June

The Japanese space agency has set dates for its historic plan to explore the surface of an asteroid with robots.

The Hayabusa-2 spacecraft reached the asteroid Ryugu in June this year after a three-and-a-half-year journey to the spinning top-shaped space rock.

Officials have picked days in September and October for the deployment of separate robotic landing craft from the Hayabusa-2 "mothership".

The robots will be despatched to separate locations on the asteroid.

If all goes well, Hayabusa-2 will be the first spacecraft to successfully deploy landers to gather data from the surface of an asteroid.

The 1km-wide space rock known formally as 162173 Ryugu belongs to a particularly primitive type of asteroid, and is therefore a relic left over from the early days of our Solar System. Studying it could shed light on the origin and evolution of our own planet.

Image copyright Jaxa Image caption The Minerva II-1 hoppers (left and centre), alongside Minerva II-2 (right)

Hayabusa-2 was launched from the Tanegashima Launch Center in far southern Japan on 3 December 2014. It has been carrying several science instrument payloads for release on to the surface of its target, Ryugu.

On 21 September, it will despatch the first of these piggybacked packages. A 3.3kg container known as Minerva II-1, which is mounted on the spacecraft, will deploy two robots known as Rover 1A and Rover 1B.

The 1kg "rovers" will actually move by hopping under the asteroid's low gravity. Each one contains a motor-powered internal mass that rotates to generate force, propelling the robot across the surface.

The rovers are equipped with wide-angle and stereo cameras to send back pictures from Ryugu.

Then, on 3 October, the mothership will deploy a lander called Mascot, which has been developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in conjunction with the French Space Agency (CNES).

Image copyright DLR Image caption The Mascot lander was built by the German Aerospace Center in conjunction with the French Space Agency

Mascot, otherwise known as the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, is a 10kg instrument package that will gather a range of scientific data from the surface.

It carries a wide-angle camera, a microscope to study the composition of minerals, a radiometer to measure temperature and a magnetometer to measure the magnetic field.

After it reaches the surface, Mascot can move its position only once, by jumping.

But the asteroid's rough surface could make landing risky.

"The surface of Ryugu is covered with boulders, so we need to continue gathering and considering information so that we can touch down safely," the mission's official Twitter account stated.

The biggest of these, near the South Pole, is estimated to be around 130m - about the same as the height of the London Eye.

Another lander, known as Minerva II-2, which has been built by a team at Japan's Tohoku University, will be deployed at a later date.

Image copyright Jaxa Image caption Hayabusa-2 landing site options: Mascot is headed to MA-9, Minerva II to N6

Image copyright JAXA / Akihiro Ikeshita Image caption Later in the mission, Hayabusa-2 will use a projectile to excavate fresh material from beneath Ryugu's surface

Even further on in the mission, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) plans to detonate an explosive charge that will punch a crater into the surface of Ryugu.

Hayabusa-2 would then descend into the crater to collect fresh rocks that have not been altered by aeons of exposure to the environment of space.

These samples will then be sent to Earth for laboratory studies.

The spacecraft will depart from Ryugu in December 2019 with the intention of returning to Earth with the asteroid samples in 2020.

The first Hayabusa spacecraft was launched in 2003 and reached the asteroid Itokawa in 2005.

Despite being hit by a series of mishaps, it returned to Earth in 2010 with a small amount of material from the asteroid.

An American asteroid sample return mission, Osiris-Rex, will rendezvous with the object 101955 Bennu later this year.

Follow Paul on Twitter.</s>The Hayabusa-2 probe rendezvoused with the barrelling space rock earlier this year in June after a three-and-a-half-year trip through space. The Japanese probe will now deploy robotic landers to the surface of Ryugu on two separate dates. Officials in Japan have announced Hayabusa-2 will deploy its first set of remote robots on September 21. Thereafter the spacecraft will release a second lander, dubbed MASCOT, on October 3.

Hayabusa-2’s official mission Twitter account posted: “The spacecraft is currently operating in BOX-B. On August 23, we announced to the media that the point denoted ‘L08’ near the asteroid equator had been selected as the candidate site for the touchdown of Hayabusa-2. “However, the surface of Ryugu is covered with boulders, so we need to continue gathering and considering information so that we can touchdown safely. “The MINERVA-II-1 and MASCOT lander decided to land at mid-latitude sites, N6 and MA-9. “MINERA-II-1 separation is scheduled for September 21, and MASCOT on October 3.”

The giant asteroid’s official designation is 162173 Ryugu. If Hayabusa-2 successfully deploys its landers on the space rock next month, the mission will mark the first ever spacecraft to position data gathering landers on an asteroid. The first leg of the mission saw Hayabusa-2 launch from the Tanegashima Launch Center, Japan, on December 3, 2014. Now the spacecraft is preparing to deploy a pair of robots, dubbed Rover 1A and Rover 1B, to the asteroid’s surface.

Unlike the familiar Martian rovers deployed by NASA, the Japanese robots will “hop” around the space rock without the need for wheels. Ryugu’s low gravity will help the hoppers navigate the bumpy surface with ease. Each robot is fitted with an array of different cameras to beam back photos of the asteroid back to the Hayabusa-2 mothership. Just 12 days later the spacecraft will deploy the MASCOT lander to gather scientific data. MASCOT will study Ryugu’s chemical and mineral composition, its magnetic field and take temperature measurements.</s>The Japanese space agency has set dates for its historic plan to explore the surface of an asteroid with robots.

The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft reached the asteroid Ryugu in June this year after a three-and-a-half-year journey to the spinning top-shaped space rock.

Officials have picked days in September and October for the deployment of separate robotic landing craft from the Hayabusa 2 "mothership".

The robots will be despatched to separate locations on the asteroid.

If all goes well, they will be the first landing craft to gather data from the surface of an asteroid.

The 1km-wide space rock known formally as 162173 Ryugu belongs to a particularly primitive type of asteroid, and therefore a relic left over from the early days of our Solar System. Studying it could shed light on the origin and evolution of our own planet.

Hayabusa 2 was launched from the Tanegashima Launch Center in far southern Japan on 3 December 2014. It has been carrying several science instrument payloads for release onto the surface of its target, Ryugu.

On 21 September, it will despatch the first of these piggybacked packages. A 3.3kg container known as Minerva II-1, which is mounted on the spacecraft, will deploy two robots known as Rover 1A and Rover 1B.

The 1kg "rovers" will actually move by hopping under the asteroid's low gravity. Each one contains a motor-powered internal mass that rotates to generate force, propelling the robot across the surface.

The rovers are equipped with wide-angle and stereo cameras to send back pictures from Ryugu.

Then, on 3 October, the mothership will deploy a lander called Mascot, which has been developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in conjunction with the French Space Agency (CNES).

Mascot, otherwise known as the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, is a 10kg instrument package which will gather a range of scientific data from the surface.

It carries a wide-angle camera, a microscope to study the composition of minerals, a radiometer to measure temperature and a magnetometer to measure the magnetic field.

After it reaches the surface, Mascot can move its position only once, by jumping.

Another lander, known as Minerva II-2, which has been built by a team at Japan's Tohoku University, will be deployed at a later date.

Even further on in the mission, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) plans to detonate an explosive charge that will punch a crater into the surface of Ryugu.

Hayabusa 2 would then descend into the crater to collect fresh rocks that have not been altered by aeons of exposure to the environment space.

These samples will then be sent to Earth, for laboratory studies.

The spacecraft will depart from Ryugu in December 2019 with the intention of returning to Earth with the asteroid samples in 2020.

The first Hayabusa spacecraft was launched in 2003 and reached the asteroid Itokawa in 2005.

Despite being hit by a series of mishaps, it returned to Earth in 2010 with a small amount of material from the asteroid.

An American asteroid sample return mission, Osiris-Rex, will rendezvous with the object 101955 Bennu in August.</s>Very Smart Brothas The Schedule for Aretha Franklin’s Funeral Is the Most Optimistic Schedule I’ve E
The Japanese space agency announces their schedule for the exploration of 162173 Ryugu by their Hayabusa 2 probe.