General
Japan’s Hayabusa2 space capsule to fall back to Earth after six-year asteroid mission
A space capsule carrying dust and rocks from an asteroid is due to land in the South Australian desert early on Sunday morning.
Key points:
- The Hayabusa2 spacecraft launched in 2014 and took four years to reach its destination
- Its capsule is only hours away from landing back on earth
- Scientists hope to learn a lot about the early solar system
The Japanese Hayabusa2 capsule, which is returning from its mission to the asteroid Ryugu, is due to touch down on the Woomera Prohibited Area about 500 kilometres north-west of Adelaide at about 4:00am (local time).
It will put on a spectacular show in the early morning twilight as it streaks towards Earth.
Then the hunt will be on to find its landing spot.
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