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.

A Japanese probe sent to examine an asteroid in order to shed light on the origins of the solar system is expected to land on the rock later this month, officials said Wednesday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the Hayabusa2 probe is expected to touch down on the Ryugu asteroid at 8 a.m. on Feb. 22. "The landing point is decided and how we're going to land is confirmed, so we want to do our best to achieve this without making mistakes," JAXA project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters. The announcement comes after the agency delayed the touchdown for several months in October, saying they needed more time to prepare the landing as the latest data showed the asteroid's surface was more rugged than expected. Scientists are already receiving data from other probes deployed on the surface of the asteroid. In October, JAXA successfully landed a new 10-kilogram observation robot known as Mascot (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout).

A Japanese probe sent to examine an asteroid will now land several months later than planned, officials have confirmed. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) says the high-profile Hayabusa2 is expected to touch down on Ryugu at least three months behind schedule. Specifically, they cite'late January' as the earliest possible opportunity, rather than the end of this month - which was the original time-frame. JAXA project manager Yuichi Tsuda said they needed more time to prepare the landing as data showed the asteroid surface was more rugged than expected. A Japanese probe sent to examine an asteroid will now land several months later than planned, officials have confirmed.

A Japanese space probe Friday released a pair of exploring rovers toward an egg-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. Taking advantage of the asteroid's low gravity, they will jump around on the surface -- soaring as high as 15 meters (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. "We are very much hopeful. We don't have confirmation yet, but we are very, very hopeful," Yuichi Tsuda, JAXA project manager, told reporters.