Watch Live @ 9 pm ET: Japan's Hayabusa2 to Make Crater on Asteroid Ryugu

[Judi Lynn]

By SPACE.com Staff 5 hours ago

Editor's note: It's a busy day of launches and other events today. Here's our roundup of today in space.

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will fire a projectile at the asteroid Ryugu, which it has been orbiting since last June. JAXA will provide a live webcast from its mission control center beginning today (April 4) at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT on April 5). You can watch it live in the window above, courtesy of JAXA. Impact time is scheduled for 10:36 p.m. EDT (0236 GMT).

The procedure, called a "Small Carry-on Impactor operation," will create a crater on the asteroid's surface and kick up debris that Hayabusa2 could collect for its sample-return mission.

https://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html?utm_source=notification

[Judi Lynn]

1. Going smoothly, artificial crater has been created, all involved pleased, shaking hands, smiling...

Spotted an American man and an American woman among the people in the control center with the others.

Everyone looked completely celebratory, in a non-obnoxious way, low key, and happy. Looked as if they are very pleased with the outcome.

[nitpicker]

2. Link to The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/05/japanese-spacecraft-bombs-asteroid-in-scientific-mission