Hayabusa-II, an asteroid explorer developed under Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has been successfully launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on the 3rd of December, 2014 at 5:22:04 CET. Hayabusa-II (HY-II) will be set for a a four years long cruise to an asteroid 1999 JU3. Within HY-II a small lander called MASCOT is accommodated. The lander system has been developed under cooperation between German national aeronautics and space research centre (DLR) and French space research centre (CNES). MASCOT shall land on the asteroid and perform about 8 hours of scientific measurements. One of the four scientific payloads on-board is a magnetometer developed by IGeP. MASCOT magnetometer (MasMag) shall acquire first direct magnetic field measurements from an asteroid surface and therefore provide us with one more piece to the puzzle of planetary origins and formation. Following the Philae experience, magnetometer data might also help us to reconstruct the lander orientation during decent and landing. More details about MasMag can be found here and for the information on HY-II please visit Hayabusa II project page.
