A Capsule Containing Bits Of An Asteroid Is Plummeting To Earth
The sample collected by the spacecraft Hayabusa2 caps a six-year mission to Ryugu. Researchers hope it will offer clues to "the secrets of the birth of the solar system and the birth of life."
As you read this, indispensable clues to the origins of the known universe are plummeting from unimaginable heights straight for the Australian Outback. There, somewhere in the desert wilderness of Woomera, a capsule ferrying sample material from an asteroid — the primary goal of a six-year-long mission spanning billions of miles — is set to make its triumphant arrival on Earth.
The capsule is expected to by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, which is spearheadingthe mission.
