Japanese spacecraft eyes tricky asteroid landing

Hyabusa2 is already 105.5 million miles on its journey, but new data indicates trouble. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Japan's Hyabusa2 space probe is currently about 105.5 million miles away, en route to its second asteroid rendezvous . However, revised data collected from a global network of observatories now indicates that the space rock designated as 1998 KY26 will look and behave far differently than astronomers previously theorized--and it may prove disastrous for the tiny explorer. In 2010, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) made history when its Hayabusa probe became the first spacecraft to not only land on and launch from an asteroid (Itokawa), but successfully return to Earth with samples .