Images raise expectations that probe collected asteroid samples

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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on July 25 released pictures and video of the Hayabusa 2 space probe landing on the asteroid Ryugu and kicking up sand and rocks that it hopefully collected.

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The images were taken by the space probe when it touched down on the asteroid on July 11 for the second time.

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They show an artificial crater that Hayabusa 2 had created in April through an explosive to bring underground samples to the surface. After it landed on July 11, the probe fired a bullet into the asteroid to kick up those samples for collection in a capsule.

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They would be the first underground samples gathered from an asteroid, and they could provide clues on how the solar system was formed.

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“When (Hayabusa 2) landed, it captured images of sand and rocks flying up,” a JAXA official said. “So I expect that it collected a substantial amount of them.”

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The capsule is scheduled to return to Earth around the end of 2020.

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