The Hayabusa2 space probe project team received the prime minister's award Thursday after successfully bringing home soil and gas samples from a distant asteroid for research into the origins of life and the evolution of the solar system.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's team was recognized for "achieving a slew of world's firsts," including the space probe's two landings on the asteroid Ryugu and "contributing to the promotion of science," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in giving the award.
On Dec. 6, Hayabusa2 dropped over an Australian desert a small capsule containing "a substantial amount" of black particles and the world's first sample of a gaseous material from deep space from the asteroid located more than 300 million kilometers from Earth.
"I am very happy that people including children have shown great interest and enthusiasm in Hayabusa2," project manager Yuichi Tsuda said after receiving the award. "We want young people to pursue their interest to the end."
Hayabusa left Earth in December 2014 and reached Ryugu in June 2018. It touched down on it twice last year to collect the first-ever asteroid subsurface samples by shooting a copper projectile at Ryugu.
The asteroid's subsurface rock, unaffected by solar flares, is believed to have remained in the same state since the solar system was formed 4.6 billion years ago.
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