Japan’s Hayabusa 2 bags its first sample from the asteroid Ryugu

Mission controllers celebrate Hayabusa 2's touchdown on Ryugu — Mission controllers celebrate Hayabusa 2’s touchdown on Ryugu

By Sam Wong

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has successfully landed on the asteroid Ryugu and collected the first sample from its surface.

The sample collection was originally planned to take place in October, but had to be delayed because Ryugu’s surface proved to be more uneven than expected.

The boulder-strewn terrain meant that mission controllers had to aim for a six-metre circle on the asteroid, and control the landing precisely. At around 23:00 GMT on Thursday, they confirmed that the ambitious manoeuvre had been pulled off.

As it touched the asteroid, the spacecraft fired a 5 gram bullet made of tantalum onto the surface to dislodge particles and collect them with its sampling instrument.

Then it began to rise again. The image above was taken by the camera on the spacecraft during ascent after the touchdown. The spacecraft’s shadow can be seen, along with a black scorch mark created by its thrusters.

Controllers plan to take two more samples before Hayabusa 2 returns to Earth. The third will be the most destructive, using explosives to blow a crater in the asteroid so it can sample material from under the surface.

The findings will be of interest to companies hoping to mine asteroids for valuable resources.

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