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TOKYO A capsule ejected from a spacecraft returned to Earth on Sunday, bringing back experimental samples from the International Space Station during the first mission of this type in Japan.
The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency said that the capsule, measuring 84 cm wide and 66 cm in height, had been projected by a parachute into the Pacific, near Minamitori Island, at the Far East of Japan.
The capsule contains protein crystals grown during experiments conducted on the ISS. The samples will be shipped Tuesday at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
In September, the Japanese freighter Kounotori7 was launched on an H-2B rocket, bringing the capsule and other supplies to the ISS.
The spacecraft left the space station on Thursday and then released the capsule before burning with the ISS waste when it was reintroduced into the Earth's atmosphere, JAXA said. (Kyodo) –
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