Japan's Hayabusa2 probe reaches asteroid to search for origin of life

Kanagawa, Japan - June 27: Japanese space explorer Hayabusa2 on Wednesday reached its destination near a small asteroid named Ryugu about 300 million kilometers from Earth, after a more than three-year journey on a mission that may elucidate the origin of life. After traveling 3.2 billion kilometers, Hayabusa2 now hovers about 20 km above the asteroid, Japan's space agency said. The explorer will stay close to Ryugu for the next 18 months as it conducts research which could provide new insights into the evolution of the solar system and the origin of life, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Yuichi Tsuda, an associate professor at JAXA and the manager of the Hayabusa2 project, told a press conference at the agency's space institute in Sagamihara near Tokyo that the achievement can be regarded as "setting foot at the entrance of space science research where no man has gone before." "We will explore a new world which no one has seen before," Tsuda said, adding he would like to produce an outcome surpassing that of the original Hayabusa asteroid probe, which collected the first ever samples from an asteroid in space.He also said Hayabusa2 remains "in very good condition." The small unmanned spacecraft, equipped with devices including cameras and sensors, will also monitor the asteroid and study its gravity, temperature and surface conditions. It also has three tiny rovers, each of which is designed to roam the surface of Ryugu to conduct probes. Diamond-shaped Ryugu, estimated to have a diameter of about 900 meters, travels around the Sun every 16 months, passing near the orbits of Earth and Mars. Ryugu's blackish color is believed to indicate the asteroid has abundant carbon, an important element for life. Ryugu is also believed to contain water and other materials for life, unlike the asteroid Itokawa, which was probed by Hayabusa2's predecessor.