Japan’s Hayabusa2 asteroid probe has already accomplished a lot. The spacecraft successfully traveled to its target, a space rock known as Ryugu, where it entered orbit and completed some daring sample-gathering maneuvers. Earlier this month, the probe departed from the asteroid and today it begins its journey back to Earth.
As Space.com reports, Hayabusa2 recently fired up its ion propulsion system in a brief test to ensure it’s ready to push the spacecraft back home. The test went smoothly, and today the Japanese space program JAXA will hit the throttle.
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Japan’s asteroid probe just fired up its engine for a historic return to Earth originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 3 Dec 2019 at 20:08:45 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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