JAXA Cleared to Land Hayabusa2 Sample Capsule In Australian Desert Written 20 August 2020

SPACE reports that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been officially granted permission to land its Hayabusa2 spacecraft’s sample capsule in the Australian desert this December. Hayabusa2 “is trekking back to Earth with a sample capsule full of material snagged from a near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu.” JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said in a statement, “The approval to carry out the re-entry and recovery operations of the Hayabusa2 return sample capsule is a significant milestone. ... We will continue to prepare for the successful mission in December 2020 in close cooperation with the Australian government.” Although the sample capsule will return to Earth to be analyzed, JAXA “is evaluating sending the Hayabusa2 probe on to visit a second asteroid about a decade from now.
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