Japan’s Hayabusa 2 successfully shot the asteroid Ryugu with a specially designed bullet in 2019 before briefly landing on it to scoop up some of the disturbed gravel. The sample will be returned to Earth, with a planned landing in Australia this December. But now the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) is sending the spacecraft on a long voyage to another target.
After dropping off the sample of Ryugu at Earth, Hayabusa 2 will set a course for another asteroid: 1998 KY26, which is a spherical rock with a diameter a little larger than a tennis court.
For more like this
Subscribe to the CNET Now newsletter for our editors’ picks of the most important stories of the day.
This asteroid’s orbit takes it between the orbits of Venus and Mars, meaning it’s relatively close to Earth, but Hayabusa 2 will take a somewhat roundabout path to visit it.
As JAXA announced at a press conference Tuesday, the spacecraft will spend about five years between 2021 and 2026 or 2027 in a sort of long-term cruise control before performing a fly-by of another asteroid, 2001 CC21. It will then make a few swings by Earth in preparation for a mid-2031 arrival at 1998 KY26 where it will check out the fast-rotating micro asteroid and mission planners will weigh the possibility of trying to land on it.
No word yet on if Hayabusa 2 will try and shoot 1998 KY26 as well, but it seems likely that the spacecraft is all out of ammunition at this point.