Asteroid space capsule completes 5 billion kilometre mission, touching down in a blaze of light in outback South Australia

A space capsule has landed in a blaze of light in the South Australian outback after travelling more than 5 billion kilometres on a six-year mission to collect samples from a faraway asteroid.

Scientists hope the mission will help answer some of the most fundamental questions about how our solar system formed and where elements, such as water, came from.

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft had successfully released the small capsule on Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant…