Ryugu, as pictured from the spacecraft on 24 June JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, Aizu University, AIST
AFTER a journey of three-and-a-half years, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is sidling up to its destination, a small asteroid called Ryugu. Its mission: to bring some space dust back to Earth.
The approach is tricky, says Elizabeth Tasker of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Ryugu is a relatively small asteroid, less than a kilometre across, so it is hard to pin down its exact location at any one time. “A tiny…
