On Dec. 3, 2014, Japan launched the Hayabusa2 spacecraft on a mission to fetch a sample from an asteroid.
The asteroid is named 162173 Ryugu, but it’s also known as 1999 JU3. Hayabusa2 lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a Japanese H-IIA rocket at 1:22 p.m. local time (0422 GMT (11:22 p.m. EST Dec. 2). It arrived at the asteroid three and a half years later in 2018. Hayabusa2 brought along four small rovers to drop on the asteroid’s surface.
After searching for a good landing site, the Hayabusa2 mothership descended to the Ryugu’s surface, scooped up some asteroid dirt and aimed to return the sample to Earth by the end of 2020.
By studying the asteroid sample up close, scientists hope to learn more about the history of our solar system.
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