"It looks like the landing has been successful," said a spokeswoman for the Japanese space agency Jaxa. The Japanese space probe "Hayabusa2" has successfully landed on the asteroid "Ryugu" about 340 million kilometers away from Earth. This was announced by the Japanese space agency Jaxa on Friday.
"Hayabusa 2" was meant to take samples from the surface of the asteroid during the very brief impact and then return to orbit around the comet. It was planned that the probe would fire a small explosive that would form an artificial crater in the asteroid surface. Then she should pick up the fluidized material from the asteroid.
However, it would still take a few days until it could be confirmed whether the first samples could be collected as planned, it said.
JAXA / Reuters
Shadow of "Hayabusa 2" on the asteroid "Ryugu"
Insights into the origin of our earth
At the end of next year, the probe will return to Earth with the material. Her predecessor model had already brought soil samples of an asteroid to Earth in 2010 for the first time. "Hayabusa2" started in December 2014 in Japan and reached its destination after almost four years in the All End of June last year.
A lander called "Mascot", developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the French space agency CNES, landed on "Ryugu" in October and explored it for 17 hours - until its battery was extinguished (read more here) ,
JAXA / Reuters
"Hayabusa 2" before landing (artistic representation)
The researchers want to use the mission to trace the origins of the solar system. "Mascots" data could provide important insights into the origin of our earth and to ward off asteroid impacts. Meanwhile, the mission of "Hayabusa2" continues.
In the coming months, she will fly two more times to the surface of the asteroid and collect material there. The probe will return to Earth in 2020 and deliver the samples before it burns out in the atmosphere.