MASCOT – a Mobile Lander on-board Hayabusa2 Spacecraft - Operations and Status after Launch

MASCOT (‘Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout’) is a 10 kg mobile surface science package on board JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft, currently on its way to the near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu. MASCOT has been developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in cooperation with the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The concept of MASCOT is to perform in-situ measurements on the asteroid’s surface and to support the Hayabusa2 mission in the sampling site selection. MASCOT is equipped with 4 scientific instruments, a wide angle camera, a hyperspectral IR microscope, a radiometer and a magnetometer. MASCOT is powered by a primary battery which shall enable MASCOT to investigate the asteroid surface for up to 2 asteroid days. An internal mobility mechanism shall relocate MASCOT on the asteroid surface to investigate different landing sites in detail.