Ryougo

The Yabusa 2 spacecraft near asteroid Ryugu, courtesy of JAXA

Surprising discoveries about the carbon richness of asteroid Ryugu and the composition of matter in the early solar system

Japanese researchers who examined the soft materials that returned to Earth from the asteroid Ryugo in the Yabusa 2 spacecraft now estimate that the protoplanetary bodies from which the planets and asteroids were formed were richer in carbon than previously thought.
Simulation of the re-entry into the atmosphere of a probe that separated from the Yabusa 2 spacecraft and landed a soil sample from the asteroid Ryogo in Australia. Figure: Japanese space agency JAXA

Japan has landed the Yabusa 2 soil sample from the asteroid Ryugo in Australia

The Yabusa 2 spacecraft itself continued on its way and will meet with another asteroid in 2031
Asteroid Ryogo as photographed by the Yabusa 2 spacecraft. The dust has escaped into space.

Asteroid Ryugu findings – interim summary