Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft reaches cosmic 'diamond'

A Japanese spacecraft has arrived at its target - an asteroid shaped like a diamond or, according to some, a spinning top.

Hayabusa 2 has been travelling toward the space rock Ryugu since launching from the Tanegashima spaceport in 2014.

It is on a quest to study the object close-up and deliver rocks and soil from Ryugu to Earth.

It will use explosives to propel a projectile into Ryugu, digging out a fresh sample from beneath the surface.
  BBC
27/6/17
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• Asteroid on which Japan's space agency will detonate explosives in 2018, to be called "Ryugu" - after ancient story....