A spacecraft has sent a capsule tumbling towards earth, carrying samples from an asteroid that could contain clues to the origin of the solar system, Japan’s space agency has said.
The capsule is just 15 inches (40cm) in diameter – detached from the Hayabusa2 craft 136,700 miles (220,000km) from Earth, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
The subsurface samples it is carrying – the first ever to be collected from an asteroid – may contain information about life on our planet.
It is believed the data may be unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors.
Space enthusiasts observed the event at gatherings across Japan, including at the Tokyo Dome stadium.
The capsule is due to land in a sparsely populated area of Woomera, Australia, on Sunday.