Earth is about to get its first asteroid sample delivery

[Mike Wehner]

• Japanese space program JAXA has its Hayabusa2 probe headed for Earth, and it's nearing its sample drop-off point.
• The spacecraft orbited the space rock called Ryugu, shot it with a projectile, and snatched a sample before heading back to Earth.
• NASA's own asteroid sample return mission is also about to head back to our planet.

Lately, all eyes have been on NASA's Asteroid probe OSIRIS-REx as it performed its touch-and-go operation to secure a sample of the space rock Bennu, but it's not the only asteroid sample mission currently being conducted. JAXA, the Japanese space agency, beat NASA to the punch with its Hayabusa2 mission which visited the asteroid Ryugu, "bombed" it with projectiles, and collected samples of its own.

Now, roughly a year after it departed Ryugu, JAXA's probe is nearing Earth, and it's ready to deliver its incredibly valuable cargo. At present, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft is scheduled to drop its secured container of asteroid material toward Earth on December 6th, and it is expected to land in Woomera, Australia, where eager scientists will be waiting for it.

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Earth is about to get its first asteroid sample delivery originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 27 Nov 2020 at 23:10:37 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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