Hayabusa2 to attempt another asteroid landing
Posted: Sun, Jun 30, 2019, 10:31 AM ET (1431 GMT)
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will attempt a second landing on the asteroid Ryugu in July. The Japanese space agency JAXA announced that the spacecraft will attempt a landing July 11 in a crater that the spacecraft created with an impactor in April. Hayabusa2 will collect samples excavated by that impact during the touch-and-go landing for later return to Earth, joining samples collected elsewhere on the asteroid earlier this year. Project officials said the scientific benefits the new samples would provide outweighed the risks something could go wrong during the landing attempt.
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will attempt a second landing on the asteroid Ryugu in July. The Japanese space agency JAXA announced that the spacecraft will attempt a landing July 11 in a crater that the spacecraft created with an impactor in April. Hayabusa2 will collect samples excavated by that impact during the touch-and-go landing for later return to Earth, joining samples collected elsewhere on the asteroid earlier this year. Project officials said the scientific benefits the new samples would provide outweighed the risks something could go wrong during the landing attempt.
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