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Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 is set to deliver a valuable sample of asteroid dust to Earth this weekend and you can watch the event live.
The mission will pass through our planet to deposit a capsule full of regolith from the asteroid Ryugu, before setting off to visit another asteroid in 2031 during its newly extended mission.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will broadcast two key events overnight tonight and Saturday (December 4-5) in which you can watch the return capsule make its way to the ground. You can watch the webcasts here and on the Space.com home page, courtesy of JAXA, as well as on the Space Agency’s YouTube.
The first event is the separation of the return capsule from the main spacecraft Hayabusa2, which will take place at 11:30 p.m. EST tonight (04:30 GMT Saturday, December 4). J JAXA will be streaming it live on YouTube here.
Infographics: Explanation of the Japanese Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return mission
The capsule will then return to Earth’s atmosphere en route to its landing in Woomera, southern Australia, the same region to which the previous Hayabusa mission delivered its asteroid sample in 2010.
The Hayabusa2 capsule re-entry will also be broadcast live on YouTube and coverage will begin on Saturday, December 5 at 12 p.m. EST (5 p.m. GMT). You can also watch it live on Space.com.
If the landing goes as planned, scientific teams around the world will analyze the Ryugu sample to learn more about the early solar system. Asteroids like Ryugu formed when our solar system was still young, and these asteroids give us a glimpse into the makeup of our neighborhood before planets and moons reach their current size.
NASA also has an ongoing asteroid sample return. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission captured even more regoliths than expected at its asteroid, called Bennu. The spacecraft safely stored the sample in October and is expected to return it to Earth in 2023.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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