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Today in History: Hayabusa2 reaches Ryugu, starts Earth-bound sampling

6/27/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On 27 June 2018, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft reached near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu, a 900-metre Cb-type body, and began a year-and-a-half campaign to map, drill, and collect surface material. The probe departed in November 2019, delivering the first asteroid samples—containing organic molecules like uracil and vitamin B3—to Earth on 5 December 2020.

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Story summary

On 27 June 2018, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft reached near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu, a 900-metre Cb-type body, and began a year-and-a-half campaign to map, drill, and collect surface material. The probe departed in November 2019, delivering the first asteroid samples—containing organic molecules like uracil and vitamin B3—to Earth on 5 December 2020.