What : Asteroid Sample-Return Mission

By : Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Which asteroid : Ryugu

What is in news : NASA, has received its first sample of asteroid Ryugu that returned to Earth in December 2020 by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Other Details :

• Hayabusa returned sample capsule to Earth in December 2020, has been extended till 2031
• Asteroid Ryugu
  • Also called as 162173 Ryugu, officially named as “Ryugu” by Minor Planet Center
  • Name refers to Ryugu-ju (Dragon Palace) which is a magical underwater palace in Japanese folktale
  • Discovered in May 1999 by astronomers with Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at Lincoln Lab’s ETS in United States
  • Near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid belonging to Apollo group