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Japan's space agency says a Japanese spacecraft successfully landed on an asteroid Thursday and collected material from under its surface.
The Hyabusa2 spacecraft landed briefly inside a small crater on the asteroid Ryugu. The space agency reported that it rose safely from the surface after collecting dust and rock samples.
Space scientists hope that tests of the material will provide information about the formation of our solar system.
Officials with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, excitedly announced the results. They said data confirmed that the spacecraft had landed on Ryugu and returned to a position above the surface.
After the operation was completed, everyone in the command center stood up and cheered.
It was a success, a big success, said Takashi Kubota, a project member. He added that the operation had been successful in all its planned activities.
In April, Hyabusa2 fired a two kilogram object into the surface, creating a crater on the asteroid. On Thursday, the spacecraft returned to the same area, where it landed for only a few seconds. The goal was to collect rock and dust samples from beneath the surface. The spacecraft shot a small object into the soil and used a tube to gather the material.
Getting to rocks and other material below the surface is important, scientists say, because it is unaffected by radiation from space and other influences.
JAXA said the samples have been safely placed in a container which will be moved to a capsule for safe storage.
The operation is the most important experiment yet by Hyabusa2. Its next project is to return safely to Earth with the soil samples.
Project manager Yuichi Tsuda said that an experiment like this has never been attempted before. Nobody has collected and brought home underground materials from anywhere further than the moon, he added.
The Hyabusa2 is the first spacecraft to collect samples from under the surface of an asteroid. The United States space agency NASA plans a similar mission to an asteroid called Bennu.
Hyabusa2 will continue to take pictures of Ryugu until it begins its 300 million kilometer trip back to Earth. It is expected to return home in late 2020.
I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
