Six old age and three days after launch , the Japanese Space Agency ( JAXA ) Hayabusa2 has completed its primary military mission to study Asteroid Ryugu in point , deploy four small roamer on its surface , and hoard samples , including the first - ever subsurface sampling from an asteroid . Now those samples are safely back on Earth .
This important payload landed in the Woomera desert in Australia between 5:47 and 5:57 pm UTC ( 12:47 to 12:57 pm EST ) . It is the same location where its predecessor Hayabusa drop off its asteroid sample distribution . A team from JAXA has been in the southern country for the last month ( partially due to Covid limitation ) to have all the cooking in plaza to collect the plastered container .
The Earth’s surface and subsurface samples will be manage by the JAXA ’s Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center . Once the sample distribution is carefully released to ensure it is free from taint , it will be possible for international scientists to request a fraction of it for their studies . The sample distribution container is referred to as ? ? ? ( tamatebako ) , which translate to " gem box " .
Today , we lionise the incredible technical advancement that allowed the assembling of the samples . The surface sample distribution were taken during a abbreviated touchdown on the surface of Ryugu . To do so , Hayabusa2 frivol away a low missile at the surface to lift the land . Then , a taste tube-shaped structure was used to breastfeed up the dust . The ingathering of the subsurface sample likewise used a projectile , but it was a bigger and riskier job . Hayabusa2shota 2.5 - kilogram ( 5.5 - pound ) bullet into the tilt to expose sub - surface debris . The compendium could n’t take place immediately because the detritus could damage the spacecraft , so it had to await for the actual junk to go down , then vaporize down to pile up the material .
Even without the samples , the workmanship had already fail records and contribute to a good understanding of asteroid . The workmanship also successfully delivered thefirst - ever roversto land on an asteroid , which sent back thefirst - ever imagestaken on the surface of an asteroid .
Today , marks an unbelievable achievement for JAXA and the Hayabusa2 team , but it is not the end . The spacecraft is ship on an extended foreign mission . Thanks to its extra propellant , the spacecraft will continue its explorations . It is now on an orbit towards a special asteroid known as 1998 KY26 , which Hayabusa2 will reach in 2031 . This asteroid is just 30 meters ( 98 feet ) in diameter , spinning around in just 10 minutes .
The next ten wo n’t see Hayabusa2 idle . It will be analyze the zodiac light , the rubble in the plane of the Solar System that gleam in the sun , as well as observe exoplanets . It will also perform a flyby of the mid - sized asteroid 2001 CC21 in 2026 , although the team is unsure if it will get much utilitarian data point as the missionary station was not design for such quick observations .
The last objective is 1998 KY26 , which is of import in its similarity to other asteroid who are potential to impact Earth , so take it up closely will help us be better prepared against them .
