https://spaceflightnow.com/201...usa-2-sci-operation/



Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dropped an explosive charge on asteroid Ryugu on Thursday night in an audacious attempt to carve a crater on the object, exposing pristine underground rocks to be retrieved by the probe for return to Earth.


Six weeks after snagging a sample from Ryugu’s rugged surface, Hayabusa 2 released a device that will use explosives to drive a copper impactor into the asteroid at high speed. The dramatic experiment had never been attempted in space before, and the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft retreated to a safe position on the other side of Ryugu to stay safe during the impact event.


Wow. Japan is bombing asteroids and India is shooting down their own satellites.