A Japanese capsule carrying the world’s first asteroid subsurface samples has in the remote Australian Outback. The spacecraft Hayabusa2 released the small capsule on Saturday and sent it towards Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid. Expand Close The capsule is retrieved after being dropped by Hayabusa2 (JAXA via AP) AP/PA Images / FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsapp The capsule is retrieved after being dropped by Hayabusa2 (JAXA via AP)About two hours after the re-entry, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said its helicopter search team found the capsule in the planned landing area. The capsule’s return came weeks after Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a successful touch-and-go grab of surface samples from the asteroid Bennu. Unfortunately not bright enough for handheld camera, but enjoyed watching capsule!”Expand Close The capsule contains samples of asteroid subsurface (JAXA via AP) AP/PA Images / FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsapp The capsule contains samples of asteroid subsurface (JAXA via AP)Hayabusa2 left the asteroid Ryugu, about 180 million miles away, a year ago.

Source: Irish Independent December 06, 2020 12:17 UTC