December 6, 2020

SpaceX's Dragon 2 spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Image courtesy SpaceX)

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A little while ago the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-21 (Cargo Resupply Service 21) mission, also referred to as SPX-21. After just over eleven minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 21st mission for the Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes. It’s the first mission for this Dragon version.

The samples from asteroid Ryugu after getting recovered (Photo courtesy JAXA. All rights reserved)

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Yesterday, the Japanese space probe Hayabusa 2 released the capsule containing the samples taken from asteroid Ryugu to Earth. The capsule landed in Australia’s Woomera region. A few hours later, the space agency JAXA crew confirmed that they recovered the capsule and started preparations for its transport to the laboratory in Japan where it will be opened to start examining its contents.