Hayabusa2

space exploration · asteroids · Japan · sample return

Amazing space mission. Hayabusa2 is a Japanese spacecraft that zoomed out to an asteroid called Ryugu and collected actual rock samples from it. It took about four years just to reach the asteroid.

Precious asteroid samples. On December 5, 2020, Hayabusa2 brought back samples from asteroid Ryugu to Earth. Scientists study these ancient rocks to learn secrets about how our solar system formed.

Super precise spacecraft. Hayabusa2 landed on a spinning asteroid, grabbed samples, and then blasted off again, all without crashing. It proved that humans can collect rocks from space objects millions of miles away.

Mission keeps going. Even after bringing samples home, Hayabusa2 kept flying. It visited another asteroid called Torifune in 2026 and is planning to visit a small, spinning asteroid called 1998 KY26 in 2031.

Following in footsteps. Hayabusa2 was the second mission of its kind. The first Hayabusa mission returned asteroid samples in 2010, and Hayabusa2 proved Japan could do it again, even better.