Hayabusa-2: Japan spacecraft leaves asteroid to head home bbc.com

posted by  AkihabaraBot | 4 years, 5 months ago in Science & Technology

Image copyright Jaxa/AFP Image caption The Ryugu asteroid is 900m (2,950ft) wideJapan's Hayabusa-2 spacecraft has departed from a faraway asteroid and begun its yearlong journey back to Earth.
The spacecraft left its orbit around Ryugu on Wednesday with samples of the asteroid in tow.
Three and a half years later, it reached the asteroid Ryugu, located about 300 million km (190 million miles) from Earth.
The second touchdown happened in July, after the Hayabusa-2 first "bombed" the asteroid to create an artificial crater.
Later, it returned to land in the crater and collect the fresh rubble, including rock samples from beneath the surface.