Japan's Hayabusa2 Asteroid Ryugu Sample-Return Mission in Pictures

Asteroid Ryugu

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft captured this view of the asteroid Ryugu from approximately 4 miles (6 kilometers) away on July 20, 2018, at 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT).

Close-up Look at Sites on Asteroid Ryugu

A close-up look at the sites L07, L08 and M04 on the asteroid Ryugu.

Ryugu in 3D!

A stereo image of the asteroid Ryugu designed to be viewed with red/blue glasses.

Asteroid Ryugu Up Close

Using its Optical Navigation Camera – Telescopic, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft captured this view of the asteroid Ryugu from about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away on Aug. 7, 2018.

A Clearer View

This is one of Hayabusa2's early, clear views of asteroid Ryugu during its approach to the space rock.

Asteroid Ryugu animation

A rotating view of Ryugu captured by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft between June 14 and June 15, 2018.

Ryugu

An image of asteroid Ryugu taken from about 1 km away by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft's Optical Navigation Camera – Wide Angle on Aug. 7, 2018. The red frame shows the range imaged by the telescopic camera (the image below in this story).

Asteroid Ryugu

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft took these images of the asteroid Ryugu on June 17-18, 2018, during the probe's approach to the rocky body. The large, visible crater is about 650 feet (200 meters) across. The asteroid rotates perpendicular to its orbit and takes 7.5 hours to spin all the way around. (These images have been smoothed, and the light and dark regions are emphasized.)

Asteroid Ryugu

Raw images taken of the asteroid Ryugu on June 17-18, 2018, when the Hayabusa2 spacecraft traveled from 200 to 150 miles (330 to 240 km) away from the object.

How Japan's Hayabusa 2 Asteroid Mission Works (Infographic)

Hayabusa2, the second in Japan's Hayabusa mission series, will drop probes on and take samples from asteroid 1999 JU3. See how the Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission works in this Space.com infographic.