Phys.org  November 29, 2020 The Hayabusa2 spacecraft left the asteroid Ryugu, about 180 million miles from Earth, a year ago and is expected to reach Earth and drop a the pan-shaped capsule with a diameter of 15 inches containing the precious samples in southern Australia onto a remote, sparsely populated area on Dec. 6. It will drop the capsule containing the samples from 136,700 miles away in space, a big challenge requiring precision control. The capsule, protected by a heat shield, will turn into a fireball during re-entry in the atmosphere at 125 miles above ground. At about 6 miles […]