A capsule containing the experiences of the ISS on board is retrieved after diving into the ocean near a remote island

A capsule ejected from a spacecraft returned to Earth on Sunday, yielding experimental samples from the International Space Station (ISS) during the first mission of this type in Japan.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said that the 84 cm high and 66 cm high capsule was spray-parachuted into the Pacific near the island of Minamitorishima. early in the morning.

"I think we managed almost as planned," said Hirohiko Uematsu, JAXA's technical director, at a press conference at the Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Prefecture. "Japan has got the essential technology to go from the front."

The JAXA is now looking to develop a new capsule that can go home without the help of a spaceship. The success of the last mission should also contribute to the future development of Japan's own spacecraft for manned missions.

The recovered capsule contained protein crystals grown in experiments conducted aboard the ISS, which, according to JAXA, will be analyzed for medical purposes.

Crystals of high quality proteins, obtained without being influenced by gravity, will be useful in exploring the causes of certain diseases and developing drugs to treat them, according to the agency.

Samples will be delivered Tuesday at the JAXA Space Center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, where scientists will study them over the next few weeks.

In September, the Japanese cargo ship Kounotori 7 was launched on an H-2B rocket, bringing the capsule and other supplies to the ISS.

The ship left the space station on Thursday and returned the capsule Sunday morning before burning with the ISS waste when it was reintroduced into the Earth's atmosphere, JAXA said.