Japanese capsule with asteroid samples lands in Australia after space trip of over 5 billion kilometres
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) officials say the ‘box of treasures’ landed in perfect form in Woomera, Australia
- The capsule contains collected material that is 4.6 billion years old, that is from the earliest times of the solar system
In a streak of light across the night sky, a capsule containing the precious specimens taken from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth after being dropped off by the probe.
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Japanese asteroid probe brings back samples that may reveal origin of planets
Scientists hope the samples, which are expected to amount to no more than 0.1 grams of material, could help shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the universe.
“After six years of space travel, the box of treasures was able to land in Australia’s Woomera this morning,” Databus-2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda told a press conference.
The capsule carrying samples entered the atmosphere just before 2.30am Japan time (17:30 GMT Saturday), creating a shooting-star-like fireball as it entered Earth’s atmosphere en route to the landing site.