The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 is ready to touch down on asteroid Ryugu and should do so later this week. On Monday morning, Japanese officials confirmed that the spacecraft will attempt to land at 6 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 21. The spacecraft has been in orbit around Ryugu since June of 2018. Once it reaches the surface, it will start its main mission of collecting samples from Ryugu’s surface. Eventually, it will return those samples to Earth for study.
Originally, the lander had planned to touch down as early as last October. But closer inspection of the asteroid showed it was covered in large boulders and rocks. That complicated Hayabusa 2’s task of gathering powder and sand-sized grains. Mission scientists realized they needed more time to scout out safe landing sites where the spacecraft would have a better chance of successfully collecting material from the surface. Now, they’re now ...
