The Japanese Spacecraft Hayabusa 2 hassuccessfully touch downon asteroid Ryugu and was able to collect a small sampling of stuff to bring back to Earth for analysis . At 6.42pm EST ( 11.42pm GMT ) on February 21 , the craft landed on the asteroid and go forward to shoot bullets into Ryugu . This unorthodox strategy was conceived to produce small cloud of asteroid rubble to be collect by Hayabusa .
The trade does n’t stay on the surface . It approaches the ground with a try motor horn from which 5 - gram tantalum bullets are shot at 300 meter ( 984 foot ) per secondly . The particle resign by the impingement are collected by the horn . So far , the investigation has collected two samples . In totality , it will collect three .
Less than two hours after the assemblage remove place , Hayabusa was given the “ go ” signal to move back to its surveying orbit around the asteroid . As it flew off , it snapped a picture showing the marks on the alien ground where it rest . The gravel - covered terrain is not at all what researchers had expected . They think the priming coat of Ryugu would be enshroud in a fine pulverisation . The more complex open is the ground why the touchdown was postponed . Researchers at JAXA , the Japanese Space Agency , had to take more meter to discover the best locating for collect the sampling .
The third sample distribution solicitation is scheduled to take spot in April . This will be a sub - surface sample so its appeal is extremely exciting . The ballistic capsule will release a free - flying gun that will shoot a 2.5 - kilogram ( 5.5 - pound ) copper rocket using an explosive propellent bang from a length of 500 time ( 1,640 foot ) . It is ask to make a 2 - meter - wide of the mark ( 6 - human foot ) crater and release a lot of material . Hayabusa will waitress a few workweek before descending and collecting its final sample .
Once the third sample is collected , the spacecraft will continue its scientific notice . Hayabusa 2 already successfullylanded three roverson the surface of Ryugu in 2018 . A fourth one is going to be released in July 2019 . At the end of the year , Hayabusa 2 will fuel up its ion engines and begin its return to Earth . It is scheduled to come in December 2020 . It will drop off its precious sample cargo , which is expected to land in Australia . At that point , the craft will have traveled over 5 billion kilometers ( 3 billion international nautical mile ) .
But that might not be the end of Hayabusa 2 . It will still have enough fuel to stretch its commission , so it might be sent to visit another asteroid near Earth .
