Asteroid samples from 300 million km away to arrive on Earth... Japanese probe successfully separates capsule

Asteroid explorer 'Hayabusa2'
[Image source = Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Japan's spacecraft 'Hayabusa2,' which approached Earth, has successfully separated the capsule containing materials collected from the asteroid 'Ryugu.' The capsule is scheduled to land in the desert of Western Australia on the 6th.

According to foreign media including AP News and NHK on the 5th, Hayabusa2 successfully separated the capsule around 2:30 PM at a distance of approximately 220,000 km from Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stated that the capsule contains sand from the asteroid Ryugu and requires precise handling.

The capsule is expected to enter the atmosphere at a speed of 12 km/s around 2:28 AM on the 6th and land in the desert of Western Australia around 2:50 AM. At an altitude of 10 km, the capsule will deploy a parachute to descend slowly and transmit radio signals to indicate its location.

JAXA is preparing a recovery operation to retrieve the capsule, which is expected to crash in the Australian desert. Satellite dishes will be installed around the target area, and maritime radar, drones, and helicopters will be mobilized for the recovery.

Meanwhile, Japan's second asteroid probe Hayabusa2 was launched on December 3, 2014, aboard the H2A rocket (No. 26), jointly developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 'Hayabusa' means 'falcon,' a type of bird, in Japanese. Japan's first asteroid probe, 'Hayabusa1,' was launched in 2003 and returned to Earth in 2010 but completely burned up in the night sky over Australia.

Hayabusa2 approached the asteroid Ryugu, about 340 million km from Earth, in July last year and successfully created a crater with a metal bullet and collected internal materials.

Hayabusa2's flight distance over six years amounts to approximately 5 billion km.

After dropping the capsule, which is presumed to contain the mysteries of space, Hayabusa2 aims to fly an additional 10 billion km over the next 11 years and return to Earth in 2029.

JAXA plans to live-stream the capsule's return scene on its YouTube channel.