Japanese Probe to Try to Land on Asteroid Ryugu on Feb. 22

Tokyo, Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Hayabusa 2 unmanned probe will attempt to touch down on the asteroid Ryugu on Feb. 22, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Wednesday. The landing attempt has been delayed from the initial schedule of late October, due to difficulties deciding a location for the landing. In September-October, JAXA conducted three landing rehearsals, sending Hayabusa 2 to approach a candidate landing area near the asteroid's equator and drop a target marker there. But JAXA decided to postpone the landing attempt after it learned that the surface of Ryugu is rockier than initially thought. JAXA has since worked to narrow down candidate landing areas by studying the surface condition in detail, eventually selecting a 3-meter-radius site near the target marker and with relatively few rocks. "We are coming to understand how to make a landing on Ryugu," JAXA project manager Yuichi Tsuda told a press conference on Wednesday. "We aim to deliver on the landing mission without fail, by keeping cool heads while maintaining our passion," Tsuda said. Hayabusa 2 is set to start moving toward Ryugu from an altitude of about 20 kilometers at around 8 a.m. Feb. 21 (11 p.m. Feb. 20 GMT) and expected to touch down on the asteroid around 8 a.m. Feb. 22 and begin work to collect samples from the surface. The result of the landing mission is expected to be known as early as Feb. 22, according to JAXA. END