The Japanese space agency, JAXA, has confirmed that samples from the asteroid Ryugu are nearly home. The space craft known as Hayabusa2 left Ryugu roughly a year ago and has almost completed its 300 million kilometre (180 million miles) journey across space.
By returning the samples to Earth, it will be the first time scientists have managed to collect a piece of an asteroid from space and return it to our planet.
Makoto Yoshikawa, a Hayabusa2 project mission manager, said that the space craft could land on December 6.
According to JAXA, Hayabusa2 will likely land in Australia.
The space agency has established satellite dishes across several locations across Australia so they can determine where it will land.
Without the sensors, which also include marine radar, drones and helicopters, it would be “extremely difficult” to locate where the space craft, which has a diameter of only 40 centimetres, will land.
Hayabusa2 and its lander became the first of such to ever make contact with an asteroid in September 2018.
Asteroids like Ryugu are a form of time capsules from the solar system’s formation.
Because of this scientists hope the asteroid samples will offer mouthwatering insights into the history of our solar system.
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“We are hoping to find clues to the origin of life on Earth by analysing details of the organic materials brought back by Hayabusa2.”
The official Hayabusa2 Twitter account said: “It’s now less than 2 weeks left, and under 4,500,000 km to Earth!
“The current plan for the Earth return (in JST):・December 5, 14:00 – 15:00: capsule separation・Dec. 5, 15:00 – 17:00: orbit change for spacecraft departure・Dec. 6, 02:00 – 03:00: capsule landing.”
It took Hayabusa2 three years to reach Ryugu.
However, the journey back is only a third as long due to the asteroid’s voyage through the solar system, which brought it closer to Earth.