TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese space explorer took
off Wednesday on a six-year journey to blow a
crater in a remote asteroid and bring back rock
samples in hopes of gathering clues to the
origin of Earth.
The explorer, named Hayabusa2, is expected to
reach the asteroid in mid-2018, spend about 18
months studying it and return in late 2020.

A small device will separate from the explorer
and shoot a projectile to blast open a crater a
few meters (several feet) in diameter. The
explorer, which will hide behind the asteroid
during the blast, will then try to collect
material from inside the crater.
Asteroids can provide evidence not available on
Earth about the birth of the solar system and
its evolution. JAXA, Japan's space agency, said
the research could help explain the origin of
seawater and how the planet earth was formed.
Hayabusa2 will attempt to expand on the work
of Hayabusa, a previous explorer that returned
in 2010 after collecting material from the
surface of another asteroid. By reaching inside
an asteroid this time, the new explorer may
recover material that is not as weathered by
the space environment and heat.
The earlier mission was plagued by mechanical
failures and other problems. JAXA hopes
improvements since then will make this trip
smoother.
"The mission was completed one way or
another, but we stumbled along the way," said
Akitaka Kishi of JAXA's lunar and planetary
exploration program. "To travel there and
bring back something is extremely difficult."
Hayabusa2, which was launched from
Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, is
a rectangular unit with two sets of solar panels
sticking out from its sides.

Japan, i just dey dem

What abwt Rosetta? I never hear any update again abwt it

Africa,where at thou? These oyinbos just keep breaking boundaries in the world of science.