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Space: Two Japanese rovers are hopping on an asteroid

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Each rover weighs about a kilogram and will bounce across the asteroid's surface.

Ars Technica said:
More than 24 hours after they were released by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to fly down to the surface of the asteroid Ryugu, the Japanese Space Agency has finally provided an update on the fate of the two tiny robots. And they're doing quite well indeed.

"We are sorry we have kept you waiting!" the space agency, JAXA, tweeted. "MINERVA-II1 consists of two rovers, 1a & 1b. Both rovers are confirmed to have landed on the surface of Ryugu. They are in good condition and have transmitted photos & data. We also confirmed they are moving on the surface."

Then, the rovers shared some pictures, including these two.

This dynamic photo was captured by Rover-1A on September 22 at around 11:44 JST. It was taken on Ryugu's surface during a hop. The left-half is the surface of Ryugu, while the white region on the right is due to sunlight. (Hayabusa2 Project) pic.twitter.com/IQLsFd4gJu

— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) September 22, 2018

Just knowing that two tiny robots are now hopping merrily around an asteroid with almost no gravity makes our own world seem a little bit merrier.

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