Hayabusa 2 Leaves Ryugu Asteroid and Returns to Earth

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Japan’s Hayabusa 2 returns to Earth, bringing significant samples of the asteroid Ryugu. The spacecraft assigned rovers and landers on asteroid’s area since 2014, and it even shot a bullet at it. It had also shattered a hole in Ryugu using a small cannonball. JAXA, made public on Twitter recently that Hayabusa 2 is leaving Ryugu. Japan’s space agency stated, “We are finally leaving Ryugu! Departure is today (November 13) at 10:05 JST (onboard time). The RCS thrusters (chemical engines) are scheduled to begin moving us away from Ryugu at about 10cm/s.”

The spacecraft arrival is very expected because it will bring significant gathered samples to Earth. JAXA plans for Hayabusa 2 to deliver the sample capsule into our planet’s atmosphere later next year for recovery on the Australian territory. Hayabusa 2’s collected matters would offer scientists new insights about how the asteroid developed.

Hayabusa 2 – A Closer Look at the Glorious Spacecraft

Hayabusa2, known for its recent real success, is an asteroid sample-return mission developed by JAXA. The spacecraft was launched in 2014 and encountered on its way, near-Earth asteroid 162173, called Ryugu in June 2018. Hayabusa is loaded with many significant science-payloads for remote sensing, four small rovers, and sampling, for identifying and analyzing the asteroid’s area. It also had the role to bring details about the environmental and geological context of the gathered things.

Ryugu is an ancient carbon-based near-Eart asteroid. Such asteroids are expected to keep the primary matters in the Solar System, a combination of ice, organic substances, and minerals, as well. By studying the collected samples from Ryugu, scientists would get a better knowledge of the origin and formation of the inner planers, also, the source of water and other organic substances on Earth. All of these are valuable because they are relevant to the origin of life on Earth.

Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.