Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials involved in the Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission confirmed Saturday that the capsule had successfully separated from the spacecraft's main body.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the control room at the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Sagamihara received data from the space probe about 220,000 kilometers away from the Earth -- equivalent to about 60% of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
After the received data was confirmed, project manager Yuichi Tsuda, 45, declared the separation a success. "I would like to conclude that the capsule has separated from the probe," he said. "Congratulations!"
As he raised his arms in triumph, his peers applauded loudly.
"It was a perfect mission," Prof. Takashi Kubota, 60, told the press.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
