On the basis of the recent observations and operations in the vicinity of asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, the project team have decided to postpone the touchdown (TD) from the end of October this year (2018) to after January next year.

The upcoming main mission operations in 2018 will be:
・October, 14 - 15: TD1-R1-A(equivalent to the second TD rehearsal)
・October, 24 - 25: TD1-R3(equivalent to the third TD rehearsal)
・Late November to December: operation for solar conjunction

The exact timing of the first touchdown will be considered during the operation period of solar conjunction, based on the results found during the rehearsal operations up to TD1-R3.

This decision to postpone touchdown is based on two main reasons. The first involves the improved understanding of the surface conditions on Ryugu by the operations conducted so far, and the second is the increased knowledge of the precision of the navigation guidance of the spacecraft.

Please visit Hayabusa2 project site for more details.