A Japanese spacecraft will attempt to land on a remote asteroid (Update)



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A Japanese spacecraft will attempt to land on a distant asteroid

This computer image provided by the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) shows the unmanned Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 as it approaches the Ryugu asteroid. Hayabusa2 approaches the surface of an asteroid about 280 million kilometers from the Earth. The JAXA said Thursday, February 21, 2019 that Hayabusa2 had started its approach at 1:15 pm (JAXA via AP, File)

A Japanese spacecraft began its approach Thursday to a distant asteroid as part of a collection mission of materials likely to provide clues about the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.

The Hayabusa2 descent has been delayed by about five hours for a security check, but the unmanned vessel is still scheduled to land on Friday morning, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced.

During touch, which will only last a few seconds, Hayabusa2 will lengthen a pipe and drop a pinball shaped ball into the asteroid to explode materials beneath the surface. If all goes well, the machine will then collect samples that will eventually be sent back to Earth. Friday's attempt is the first of three planned touchdowns of this type.

The brief landing will be difficult, because of the uneven surface and covered with blocks. Hayabusa2 aims a circle of 6 meters in diameter to avoid obstacles. The space agency controllers will direct its approach until it is 500 meters above the surface of the asteroid, after which it will be autonomous, because it takes 20 minutes to control the Earth for reach the craft.

The JAXA, as the Japanese Space Agency calls it, compared the landing in the circle to the landing on a baseball mound from its height of 20 kilometers above sea level. 39; asteroid.

A Japanese spacecraft will attempt to land on a distant asteroid

On this photo provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Hayabusa2 Project's surveillance staff is monitoring a security check performed in the control room of the Institute of Space Science and Engineering. JAXA astronautics at Sagamihara, near Tokyo, on Thursday, February 21, 2019. The Japanese satellite Hayabusa2 approaches the surface of the Ryugu asteroid about 280 million kilometers from the Earth. The JAXA announced Thursday that Hayabusa2 had begun its approach at 1:15 pm. (ISAS / JAXA via AP)

The asteroid, named Ryugu after an underwater palace in a Japanese tale, measures about 900 meters in diameter and 280 million kilometers from the Earth.

This image of October 25, 2018 provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows the asteroid Ryugu. The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 approaches the surface of an asteroid about 280 million kilometers from the Earth. JAXA said Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 that Hayabusa2 had begun its approach at 1:15 pm. The shadow of Hayabusa2 is seen in the center, just above Ryugu. (JAXA via AP)


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