Hayabusa2
AgencyJAXA
Year2014-2020
TypeAsteroid sampling
RocketH-IIA
CountryJapan
About the Mission
Japans second asteroid sample return mission. Visited Ryugu, a diamond-shaped asteroid. Fired a copper projectile into the surface to collect subsurface material. Returned samples to Earth in December 2020. Found amino acids in the samples, building blocks of life.
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