AI Summary

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft performed its first laser‑ranging experiment on July 5 during a flyby of asteroid Torifune, the initial target of its extended mission. The test used the probe’s LIDAR laser altimeter (LALT), a device derived from the LIDAR altimeter on JAXA’s Kaguya lunar orbiter, and aimed to measure distance, density, porosity, surface reflectance and possible levitating dust. Success of the experiment expands JAXA’s capability for future missions to near‑Earth asteroids and other deep‑space objects.

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