Japan successfully launched meteorite probes

On December 3, Japan Air Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the Hayabusa 2 meteorite exploration spacecraft.

>>>Reveal the opponent of Rosetta

Hayabusa 2 spacecraft launches into space - (Photo: Reuters)

According to AFP, Hayabusa 2 spacecraft launched from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan using H-IIA missiles. On earth orbit, the Hayabusa 2 successfully separated from the H-IIA missile and began its journey to the meteorite 1999JU3.

As expected, the Hayabusa 2 will fly to the meteorite 1999JU3 in mid-2018 and study here for 18 months. It will fire on the meteorite surface to create a crater to collect material. Hayabusa 2 will also drop MINERVA-II mini robot and German MASCOT research device onto meteorite surface.

Hayabusa 2 will bring materials from the meteorite surface to Earth by 2020. Scientists believe that on meteorites there may be organic matter and even water, the source of life on the left land.

Studying meteorite materials could help to understand the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago and provide traces of the origin of life on earth. Estimated JAXA Hayabusa 2 project worth about 260 million USD.

Previously, the European Space Agency (ESA) also successfully launched the Philae robot onto the comet surface 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Early data that Philae collected showed comet surfaces containing organic molecules.