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Ryugu

NPR
Space
This computer-generated image shows the Hayabusa2 spacecraft above the asteroid Ryugu. This weekend, the sample collected by the spacecraft arrived on Earth after a six-year mission.

Japanese Capsule Containing Bits Of An Asteroid Returns To Earth

Dec 05, 2020
The sample collected by the spacecraft Hayabusa2 caps a six-year mission to Ryugu. Researchers hope it will offer clues to "the secrets of the birth of the solar system and the birth of life."
NPR
Space
Japan's Hayabusa2, seen in this illustration, has been probing the asteroid Ryugu since 2018. The spacecraft is collecting samples that will be returned to Earth.

Japan (Very Carefully) Drops Plastic Explosives Onto An Asteroid

Apr 05, 2019
The device was detonated as part of a mission to better understand the origins of planets.
NPR
Space
Roughly the size of a shoebox, the Mascot lander safely settled onto the surface of the Ryugu asteroid. It's seen here in an artist's rendering of the craft released by Germany's DLR aerospace agency.

Probe Lands On Ryugu Asteroid In Latest Success For International Group

Oct 03, 2018
On Twitter, the craft echoed Alice in Wonderland, declaring: "And then I found myself in a place like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery and danger!"
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