Japan’s Hayabusa2 Mission set to return back to Earth
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Space
In news
Six years after Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission was launched, it is set to return back to Earth.
It will be carrying samples from the Ryugu asteroid that orbits the Sun.
Key takeaways
The Hayabasu2 mission was launched in December 2014.
The spacecraft was sent on a six-year-long voyage to study the asteroid Ryugu and collect samples.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REX mission also brought back samples from asteroid Bennu late in October, 2020.
According to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), this is the first time that a probe has visited a celestial body that is less than 100 metres in diameter.
Important value addition
Ryugu is classified as a Potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs).
It was discovered in 1999.
It was given the name by the Minor Planet Center in 2015.
It is 300 million kilometres away from Earth.
It took Hayabusa2 over 42 months to reach it.
Hayabasu2’s predecessor, the Hayabusa mission brought back samples from the asteroid Itokawa in 2010.
