Asteroid Day is a UN official global day of education to help protect Earth from asteroids. Awareness for asteroids in different areas, be it for science, exploration or commercial interest, is equally growing. On Asteroid Day, you can be part of the global event, by following the 48 hour broadcast or by joining one of the many hundred local events on our planet. Great speakers from science, astronauts and celebrities will be part of the global event!
Telespazio VEGA Deutschland will be contributing to this day through its expertise gathered in the asteroid mission MASCOT in the areas of on-board computer development, on-board software, simulations and operations. MASCOT is a German-French lander, currently on board the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2. The lander is planned to be deployed on asteroid Ryugu in October 2018. Hayabusa-2 is already close to its destination, first images have been received in June (Follow Hayabusa-2 and MASCOT Twitter for updates!) and more details are to be expected to be known by Asteroid Day.
Join the Live Webcast
The 48-hour broadcast will begin on 29 June at 12 PM CEST and will be repeated on 30 June and 1 July. An additional live segment, produced by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and ESA, will be streamed from the new ESO Supernova Planetarium and Visitor Centre in Munich. Watch this segment - 29 June 1:00-3:00 PM CEST - to learn about MASCOT from our Telespazio VEGA Deutschland expert!
The entire broadcast can be watched either on https://asteroidday.org or via satellite TV.
How to land on an asteroid
For the technical audience, Telespazio VEGA Deutschland, will present its involvement in the MASCOT mission within the Space @TU Darmstadt lecture series that will offer a special lecture during Asteroid Day. The event, held in German language, is open to the public.