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Illustration of the unmanned Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 approaching the asteroid Ryugu.
(JAXA via AP, File)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa2 probe will briefly touch the Ryugu asteroid on Thursday night, throwing a "ball" of scientific research into space.
During touch, which will only last a few seconds, the unmanned probe will use a projection device to pull the "bullet" into the asteroid, by blasting up materials beneath the surface. If all goes well, the machine will then collect samples that will eventually be sent back to Earth. Thursday's attempt is the first of three planned touchdowns of this type.
The spacecraft is expected to touch the space rock around 18 hours. AND.
THE SPACE "DUMPLING" APPOINTMENT: THE HATABUSA 2 SPATIAL VESSEL FROM JAPAN ARRIVES AT THE ASTEROID RYUGU
The brief landing will be difficult, given the uneven surface and covered with blocks. Hayabusa2 targets a circle 20 feet in diameter to avoid obstacles. The space agency's controllers will direct his approach up to 1,600 feet above the surface of the asteroid, after which he will be autonomous, as it takes 20 minutes to land to reach the craft.
A scientific research ball similar to that to be shot on the Ryugu asteroid. (JAXA)
Launched on December 3, 2014, Hayabusa2 arrived in Ryugu on June 27, 2018, when the asteroid was nearly 170 million kilometers from Earth. The spacecraft has traveled nearly 2 billion kilometers to reach the space rock.
In September, Hayabusa2 landed two MINERVA-II1 rovers on the Ryugu space rocker.
GREAT ASTEROID PHOTOS CAPTURED BY TINY ROVERS ON SPACE ROCK SURFACE
Great images taken by the rovers revealed the surface of the "dumpling-shaped" asteroid, with a diameter of only 2,953 feet.
This image of October 25, 2018 provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows the asteroid Ryugu.
(JAXA via AP)
Hayabusa2 is expected to leave Ryugu at the end of 2019 and return to Earth by the end of 2020.
The spacecraft is Hayabusa's successor to JAXA, which landed on the asteroid Itokawa in November 2005. Despite persistent problems, the mission collected a number of asteroid samples that returned to Earth with Hayabusa. in June 2010.
NASA MAKES AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY ON ASTEROID BENNU
NASA also conducts amazing research on asteroids. The space agency OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached the asteroid Bennu on December 3, 2018 after traveling more than one billion kilometers in space.
The asteroid could provide answers to the origin of our solar system, according to NASA.
OSIRIS-REx, meaning Origins, spectral interpretation, resource identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, was launched in September 2016 from Cape Canaveral Air Base.
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The spacecraft is currently studying space rock from orbit, recently helping scientists identify the water trapped in the asteroid clay. The probe must briefly touch the asteroid with a robotic arm in July 2020 and recover a sample that will be sent back to Earth in September 2023.
Jennifer Earl, Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, and Associated Press contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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