JAPANESE -ASTEROID- SPACECRAFT

A JAPANESE spacecraft touched down on a distant asteroid Friday on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the system and life on Earth.

Workers at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [JAXA] control centre applauded Friday as a  special signal from space indicated the Hayaabusa 2 spacecraft had touched down.

During the touchdown, Hayabusa 2 is programmed to extend a pipe and shoot a pin-ball like object into the asteroid to blowup material from beneath the surface. [Agencies]