MASCOT image pointing east while descending on Ryugu
MASCOT image pointing east while descending on Ryugu
The second image of the DLR-developed MASCAM camera is directed obliquely downward on the asteroid Ryugu and covers areas east of the descent route. The area covered by MASCAM is marked as an open trapezoid in the overview image of the wide-angle camera of the ONC (Optical Navigation Camera) system of Hayabusa2. Compared with the first image, it is clear that MASCOT moved turbulently towards Ryugu, as expected, thus performing turns and rollovers. Both images show a huge boulder, which occupies the eastern (right) edge of the image in the MASCAM image and is several tens of metres in length. On the bottom left is MASCOT's shadow, which the Sun behind the landing probe is projecting onto the asteroid surface: MASCOT is 30 centimetres long. Ryugu is a body with no atmosphere, so the outlines of MASCOT (right) and Hayabusa2 (left) are sharp in the shadows projected onto the asteroid surface.
