A Japanese spacecraft has begun its approach towards a distant asteroid on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. A Japanese spacecraft has begun its approach towards a distant asteroid on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. The Ryugu asteroid (JAXA via AP)If all goes successfully, the craft will then collect samples that would eventually be sent back to Earth. JAXA has compared landing in the circle to landing on a baseball mound from its height of 20 kilometres (six miles) above the asteroid. The asteroid, named Ryugu after an undersea palace in a Japanese folktale, is about 900 metres (3,000ft) in diameter and 280 million kilometres (170 million miles) from Earth.

Source: Irish Independent February 21, 2019 11:26 UTC