ANTARIKSA — On December 3 2014, Japan launched the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft on a mission to retrieve samples from an asteroid. The asteroid is 162173 Ryugu which is also known as 1999 JU3.
Hayabusa 2 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a Japanese H-IIA rocket at 13:22 local time. It arrived at the asteroid three and a half years later in 2018.
When it departed, Hayabusa 2 was physically and mentally ready to face an aggressive drifting asteroid. It carries four small rover vehicles that will be dropped on the surface of the asteroid.
After finding a good landing location, Hayabusa 2 itself descended to the surface of Ryugu. It took some asteroid mud to be gifted to Earth.
Also Read: Today’s History: Japan’s Hayabusa Launches from Asteroid Itokawa
Hayabusa succeeded in bringing the samples to Earth at the end of 2020. By studying the asteroid samples up close, scientists hope to find out more about the history of our solar system. Source: Space.com
2023-12-03 16:43:00
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