JAPAN'S ASTEROID SAMPLES

JAPAN to make crater on asteroid to get samples from inside..................

Japan's space agency says its  Hayabusa2 spacecraft will follow up last month's touchdown on a distant asteroid with another risky mission :

To drop an explosive to make a crater and collect underground samples to get possible clues to the origin of the solar system.

Hayabusa2 successfully touched down on the boulder - rich asteroid Feb 22, when it also collected some surface fragments.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Monday Hayabusa2 is to drop a copper impactor on the asteroid on April 5 to collect samples from deeper underground.

The mission requires an immediate evacuation of the spacecraft so it won't get hit by flying shards from the blast. [Agencies]