Context: Recently, Japanese Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is nearing Earth after a year long journey home from a distant asteroid with soil samples and data that could provide clues to the origins of the solar system.
Key Facts

• Hayabusa 2 spacecraft: It is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency(JAXA).
• Objective: To study the asteroid Ryugu and to collect samples to bring to Earth for analysis.

Why study Asteroid Ryugu?

• Ryugu is a C-type asteroid – a relic from the early days of the Solar System.
• Scientists think that C-type asteroids contain both organic matter and trapped water which might have been responsible for bringing both to Earth thereby providing the planet with the materials necessary for life to originate.