On November 30th, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 will be leaving leaving Earth aboard a Mitsubishi-made rocket to make its way to an asteroid — but not to blow it up. The Japanese spacecraft will follow in its predecessor’s footsteps and observing a space rock for science. But unlike the first Hayabusa that explored an asteroid rich in silicate and nickel-iron, this one’s headed for one that’s made of clay and rocks: materials that could contain organic matter and water. The unmanned vehicle will traverse outer space for more than three years until it finds asteroid “1999 JU3,” which it’s scheduled to reach by June 2018.
