On Octoat 03:58:15 UTC MASCOT was released during a dedicated HY2 descent and slow free-fall maneuver at a relative altitude of 41.3 m above the surface (Fig.
After arrival, HY2 performed first a global mapping to characterize the asteroids global properties and to gather information for the selection of a suitable landing site for MASCOT based on local geology, thermal constraints and scientific interest. Launched on December 03, 2014, from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, the Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 (HY2), carrying the German–French (DLR/CNES) Lander MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scount), reached its target asteroid (162173) Ryugu on J. Furthermore, we compare the mechanism to other existing deployment systems and verify its performance with two independent analysis methods using actual flight data taken during the ultimate flight activation event, which initiated the successful delivery and surface operation of the MASCOT asteroid lander. In this paper, we describe in detail the design, numerical analysis and test of this newly developed separation mechanism. In addition, the mechanism also had to safely restrain the lander to the mother spacecraft during the launch and its 3.5-year cruise phase.
The very low gravity (thus, very low escape velocity) of the target body required the design of a miniaturized deployment mechanism with a relatively small, well-reproducible separation velocity. MASCOT was a prototype design of a new class of nano-size surface science packages for the exploration of small solar system bodies. Thereby accomplishing the first-ever landing of a European spacecraft on the surface of this type of celestial body. The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT), an Asteroid Lander carried by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, successfully landed on the Near-Earth Asteroid (162173) Ryugu on October 03, 2018.
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