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Japan Retrieves Space Capsule Full of Asteroid Samples in Australia

The successful landing marks the completion of Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission, which studied the 3,000-foot-wide asteroid Ryugu

By Alex FoxSMITHSONIANMAG.COM
DECEMBER 8, 2020 1 17

On Sunday, a capsule released by Japan’s Hayabusa2 space probe successfully returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid Ryugu, reports Mari Yamaguchi for the Associated Press (AP). The capsule landed in Woomera, a remote section of the Australian Outback, where it was swiftly retrieved by JAXA, Japan’s space agency, with support from Australia’s own space agency and military.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=Alex_M_Fox&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1335513393122316288&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Fsmart-news%2Fjapan-retrieves-space-capsule-full-asteroid-samples-australia-180976475%2F&siteScreenName=smithsonianmag&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Capsule collection! The helicopter team immediately flew to the location identified by the DFS team. They searched for the fallen capsule by using radio waves and maps. Thank you very much!
(Collection Team M)#Hayabusa2 #はやぶさ２ #AsteroidExplorerHayabusa2 #HAYA2Report pic.twitter.com/KSyEbnU3Yd— HAYABUSA2@JAXA (@haya2e_jaxa) December 6, 2020

The arrival of the samples from Ryugu, which weigh approximately one gram, marks the successful end of a six-year, 3.25 billion-mile mission to rendezvous with the jet black, roughly half-mile-wide rock as it hurtles through space, report Colin Dwyer and Jason Slotkin for NPR.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=Alex_M_Fox&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1335324694359072768&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Fsmart-news%2Fjapan-retrieves-space-capsule-full-asteroid-samples-australia-180976475%2F&siteScreenName=smithsonianmag&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px