Ten years after its launch, the unmanned asteroid probe Hayabusa2, which has successfully collected samples from the asteroid Ryugu, is continuing its journey to search for clues to the origins of life and water on Earth.
After taking some six years from its launch to send to Earth in December 2020 a capsule containing sand and other samples collected from Ryugu, Hayabusa2 is currently on an extended mission, aiming to reach another asteroid.
Hayabusa2 has "outlived its design life, and could break anytime," said Yuya Mimasu, operational leader of the extended mission at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.