TOKYO — A Japanese spacecraft released two small rovers on an asteroid Friday in a mission that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system.
The Japan Space Exploration Agency said the two Minerva-II-1 rovers were lowered from the unmanned spacecraft Hayabusa2 to the asteroid Ryugu. The spacecraft arrived near the asteroid, about 170 million miles from Earth, in June.
The agency said confirmation of the robots’ safe touchdown has to wait until it receives data from them today.
The two solar-powered rovers, each about the size of a cookie can, are to capture images of the asteroid and measure surface temperatures before a larger rover and a lander are released later.