What scientists learned after firing a small cannonball into a near-Earth asteroid
(CNN)The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft fired a copper cannonball a little bigger than a tennis ball into a near-Earth asteroid named Ryugu to learn about its composition.
Almost a year later, scientists have had a chance to analyze the data, captured by cameras on the spacecraft, to learn more about this asteroid some 195 million miles away.
The Hayabusa2 probe deployed Small Carry-on Impactor — a device packed with plastic explosives — intended to blast an artificial crater in the asteroid.
📸: JAXA