News in Brief Planetary Science

Hayabusa2 has blasted the surface of asteroid Ryugu to make a crater

The spacecraft will try to pick up some of the excavated dust

dust plume at impact site on Ryugu's surface

DUCK AND COVER  After shooting a projectile at the asteroid Ryugu’s surface, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft caught this picture of a dust plume rising from the impact site.

JAXA, Kobe Univ., Chiba Institute of Technology, Univ. of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kochi Univ., Aichi Toho Univ., Univ. of Aizu, and Tokyo Univ. of Science

By Lisa Grossman

- More than 2 years ago

Hayabusa2 has blasted the asteroid Ryugu with a projectile, probably adding a crater to the small world’s surface and stirring up dust that scientists hope to snag.