Data from the probe, Hayabusa2, showed changes in speed and direction, indicating it had touched down on the asteroid and was blasting back to its holding position, according to officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Ikuta said the control centre had "received data that shows that the probe is working normally and is healthy". It felt very long until the moment the touchdown happened," Hayabusa2 mission manager Makoto Yoshikawa told reporters. The Ryugu asteroid is thought to contain clues about the origins of life | JAXA/AFP/File/HandoutHe said the probe seemed to have fired a bullet into the Ryugu asteroid, designed to puff up surface material for analysis back on Earth. At about the size of a large fridge, Hayabusa2 is equipped with solar panels and is the successor to JAXA's first asteroid explorer, Hayabusa -- Japanese for falcon.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 22, 2019 02:48 UTC