The JAXA probe will land rovers on the asteroid’s surface.
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft has gone from gazing at its target asteroid from a distance to getting all up into Ryugu’s personal space. Japan’s space agency JAXA announced on Tuesday its asteroid explorer has officially rendezvoused with its target.
It’s been a long journey to the asteroid, which is around 3,000 feet (900 meters) wide. The spacecraft launched back in 2014. Hayabusa2 is now about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away from the space rock and maintaining a consistent distance.
The mission team will observe the asteroid and survey it in preparation for the sample-collection part of the mission. Hayabusa2, like its predecessor Hayabusa, will attempt to return a bit of the asteroid to Earth.
