What does the MASCOT radiometer MARA measure?

A radiometer is a device for determining the radiation emitted by a surface. Its objective is to measure the temperature of the surface without touching it. When MASCOT separates from the Hayabusa2 probe on 3 October 2018, the MASCOT radiometer MARA will already be switched on, and will measure the surface temperature of the asteroid Ryugu during the descent, landing and rest periods. At first glance, measuring surface temperature sounds rather mundane and not particularly exciting. But what can the temperature tell us about the asteroid? In order to gain a better understanding, we have to consider the factors that determine the surface temperature on a body that lacks an atmosphere. Naturally, sunlight is an important factor – as are the properties of the surface material, known as the regolith. The key factor here is the speed at which the heat dissipates into the ground, a property known as thermal inertia.

If we are lucky and there are large boulders in MARA’s filed of view, we will be able to learn even more, and together with the properties of the loose material we will also be able to determine the thermal properties of the very boulders that served as the raw material for the loose regolith. During the Hayabusa1 mission, there was a discrepancy: the telescopically determined thermal properties of the asteroid Itokawa did not exactly match the observations made by the Hayabusa1 probe. The thermal readings and low thermal inertia measured suggested that the surface of Itokawa should have been predominantly covered by regolith, but the camera images from Hayabusa1 showed a surface largely covered in rocks. Until now, it has not been possible to determine whether these rocks were solid chunks or porous agglomerates. MARA’s measurements could be instrumental in solving this mystery, at least for Ryugu.