The Japanese spacecraft drops an explosive on an asteroid to form a crater

05 April 2019 08:56

TOKYO (AP) – The Japanese space agency has announced that its Hayabusa2 machine has projected an explosive at an asteroid to create a crater on the surface and collect underground samples to find clues to the origin of the solar system.

Friday's mission is the most risky for Hayabusa2, who must immediately escape to avoid being crushed by flying bursts of the explosion.

JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, has confirmed to Hayabusa2 that it had dropped a "small cabin impactor" on the asteroid on Friday morning.

The JAXA confirmed having confirmed that Hayabusa2 had been evacuated safely and remained intact after the explosion. JAXA analyzes in more detail.

The asteroid, named Ryugu after an underwater palace in a Japanese tale, lies about 300 million kilometers from Earth.

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