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The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 (Falcon-2), from February 18 to 24, will attempt to land on the asteroid Ryuga, which she approached in June.
Photography – ESA via Getty Images
The probe was originally supposed to land on the surface of the asteroid last October, but it has now become apparent that the location of the Hayabusa-2 landing was not adapted to the presence of high and steep rocks, said JAXA. A new site has been selected where experts from the Japanese Space Agency plan to place the probe on the asteroid to collect samples of its soil and bring it to Earth.
The probe is supposed to land 3 times on the surface of the asteroid before returning to Earth. Japanese experts hope that his mission will help discover traces of water and organic matter, which will help solve the mysteries of the creation of the universe.
The asteroid "Ryuga" between Mars and the Earth measures 900 meters. The Hiabusa-2 probe was launched in December 2014.
The same probe weighs 600 kg. This is an improved version of the Hayabusa-1 probe which, for the first time in 2010, brought samples of the land asteroid "Itokava" after crossing 6 billion kilometers in cosmic space.
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