'Origin of the planets' capsule lands in Australia
Early risers in Australia's outback on Sunday (December 6) morning got to witness the return journey of a Japanese space probe that it's hoped could be carrying secrets about the origins of the planets.
Six years after leaving Earth on board the Hayabusa2 unmanned space craft, the capsule landed in Australia carrying dust retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, before being retrieved by Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA.
It's carrying the world's first extensive samples taken from an asteroid.
JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa.
"I hope the analysis of the samples from the Ryugu asteroid will shed light on how the solar system was formed and how water was brought to Earth."
Asteroids are believed to have formed at the dawn of the solar system, and scientists say the sample may contain organic matter that could have contributed to life on Earth.
Yamakawa said the capsule may also contain some gas, which will be extracted in Australia.
Gases trapped in the rock samples could reveal more about conditions prevailing about 4.6 billion years ago.
Hayabusa2 orbited the asteroid for a few months to map its surface before landing and used small explosives to blast a crater and collect the resulting debris.
Having dropped off Sunday's capsule the craft, named after the peregrine flacon, changed its course and headed back into space.
