Japanese spacecraft to attempt landing on distant asteroid
During the touchdown, Hayabusa2 will extend a pipe and shoot a pinball-like bullet into the asteroid to blow up material from beneath the surface.
A Japanese spacecraft has begun its approach towards a distant asteroid on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.
Hayabusa2’s descent was delayed for about five hours for a safety check but the unmanned craft is still due to touch down as scheduled on Friday morning, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
During the touchdown, which will last just seconds, Hayabusa2 will extend a pipe and shoot a pinball-like bullet into the asteroid to blow up material from beneath the surface.
Friday’s attempt is the first of three such touchdowns planned.
The brief landing will be challenging, because of the uneven and boulder-covered surface.
Hayabusa2 is aiming for a six metre (20ft) diameter circle to avoid obstacles.
JAXA has compared landing in the circle to landing on a baseball mound from its height of 20 kilometres (six miles) above the asteroid.
The asteroid, named Ryugu after an undersea palace in a Japanese folktale, is about 900 metres (3,000ft) in diameter and 280 million kilometres (170 million miles) from Earth.
