Japan's Hayabusa2 on Thursday released a robotic explorer bound for the surface of an asteroid in the probe's final task before returning to earth, the nation's space agency said. The Minerva-II2, a small rover attached to Hayabusa2, began its descent toward the surface of the Ryugu asteroid at around 1 a.m. Its primary task will be to research the asteroid's gravity. Previous plans for surface observations were scrapped due to glitches, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Observing the explorer's descent to the surface will be the last mission for the probe before it leaves the asteroid in November or December, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

During the touchdown, which will last just a few seconds, the unmanned probe will use a projector device to shoot the "bullet" into the asteroid, blowing up material from beneath the surface. If all goes successfully, the craft will then collect samples that would eventually be sent back to Earth. Thursday's attempt is the first of three such touchdowns planned. The spacecraft is expected to touch down on the space rock around 6 p.m. ET. The brief landing will be challenging, given the uneven and boulder-covered surface.

Japan is launching multiple missions to explore the mysteries of the solar system in the coming years, joining hands with the European Union and countries such as India to compete with space superpowers such as the United States and Russia. The ultimate goal of space exploration is "to expand the areas of activities for humans and find another habitable planet. I believe there is a possibility that we can colonize Mars," said Hitoshi Kuninaka, a vice president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In 2018, Japan made history by landing two small rovers from the space probe Hayabusa2 on the surface of an asteroid 300 million kilometers from Earth. Hayabusa2's touchdown on the Ryugu asteroid is expected in late January this year.

In casting an eye back over memorable science and environment stories from Japan in 2018, it is impossible to ignore the extreme weather that hit the country. In late June to July, unusually heavy rainfall caused extensive flooding in southwest parts of the country. Some 8 million people were advised to evacuate, more than 200 people died and the floods caused more than ¥1 trillion in damages. Then, later in July, Japan was baked in a debilitating heatwave. The town of Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, racked up the highest temperature on record, reaching 41.1 degrees. Across the country, by the end of the heatwave some 125 people had died and more than 57,000 were taken to hospital.

The German-French Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) lander captured this photo of asteroid Ryugu during landing operations on Oct. 3, 2018. The lander's shadow is visible at upper right. A small Japanese probe landed an observation robot on the asteroid Ryugu Tuesday night in mission to study the solar system's origins. The box-shaped lander created by Germany and France's space agencies is called MASCOT or Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout. It was launched from the Hayabusa2 probe and captured numerous photos of the asteroid located more than 186 miles from Earth. "The camera worked perfectly," said Ralf Jaumann, a planetary scientist with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) that built MASCOT, in a statement.

A Japanese probe successfully landed a new observation robot on an asteroid today as it pursues a mission to shed light on the origins of the solar system. The French-German Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, launched from the Hayabusa2 probe and landed safely on Ryugu, which is classed as a potentially hazardous asteroid. MASCOT is expected to collect a wide range of data on the asteroid which is some 300 million kilometres (190 million miles) from Earth. MASCOT's launch comes 10 days after the Hayabusa2 dropped a pair of MINERVA-II micro-rovers on the Ryugu asteroid. It was the first time that moving, robotic observation devices have been successfully landed on an asteroid.

A pair of Japanese robots have captured stunning new photographs and video from the surface of an asteroid 180 million miles away. The cookie tin-shaped robots successfully reached the Ryugu asteroid last week after being released from the Hayabusa2 probe. The stunning new images and video released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency show the craggy surface of the asteroid, and reveal the rover's first'hop' was a success. They were beamed back 180 million miles to Earth by the Hayabusa2 probe. The rovers are being used by Japan's space agency to search for clues of the origins of the solar system.

A pair of Japanese robots have captured stunning photographs of the surface of an asteroid as they landed on it. The cookie tin-shaped robots successfully reached the Ryugu asteroid yesterday, a day after they were released from the Hayabusa2 probe, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency confirmed. The stunning photos show the craggy surface of the asteroid and were beamed back 180 million miles to Earth by the probe. This stunning picture of the asteroid's surface was taken by one of the rovers as it jumped on it Rover-1B's took this shot of the asteroid's craggy surface following its three-and-half year journey The rovers are being used by Japan's space agency to search for clues of the origins of the solar system. The rover mission is the world's first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid surface, according to the agency.

A Japanese space probe Friday released a pair of exploring rovers towards an oddly-shaped asteroid to collect mineral samples that may shed light on the origin of the solar system. If the mission is successful, the rovers will conduct the world's first moving, robotic observation of an asteroid surface. A Japanese space probe Friday released a pair of exploring rovers towards an oddly-shaped asteroid to collect mineral samples that may shed light on the origin of the solar system. The rovers will use the low gravity environment to hop on the asteroid's surface Taking advantage of the asteroid's low gravity, they will jump around on the surface -- soaring as high as 15 metres (49 feet) and staying in the air for as long as 15 minutes -- to survey the asteroid's physical features with cameras and sensors. So far so good, but JAXA must wait for the Hayabusa2 probe to send data from the rovers to Earth in a day or two to assess whether the release has been a success, officials said.