Skip to content

Hayabusa-2: Japan asteroid sample lands safely on Earth

A space capsule containing the first significant quantities of rock from an asteroid has arrived safely on Earth after being launched from Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2.

The container with material from a space rock called Ryugu parachuted down near Woomera in South Australia, amidst excitement and applause.

6 December 2020

Explore More

Anton stands in partially renovated Japanese home

Meet the Tiktokers buying up Japan’s empty homes

Bomb goes off at airport

Hidden runway bomb explodes just after plane takes off

Red and white plane starts to rise after aborting landing on airport runway

Planes abort landings as Typhoon Shanshan batters Japan

A person on a motorcycle rides underneath a poll that has fallen and is resting on a house

Watch as Typhoon Shanshan wreaks havoc in Japan

King Charles and Emperor Naruhito in a carriage

King and Queen welcome Japanese Emperor to UK

A South Korean tanker capsized off coast in western Japan

Watch: Tanker capsizes in rough seas off coast of Japan

Fire at launchpad after rocket launch

Watch: Japan rocket explodes seconds after launch

Shaimaa Khalil in front of damaged houses

BBC returns to ghost town flattened by Japan quake

Orcas trapped in ice

Orcas trapped in drift ice off the coast of Japan

Hut swept away by Japan landslide

Video shows buildings swept away by Japan landslide

The BBC's Jean Mackenzie stands in front of a destroyed building

Watch: Buildings still smouldering in quake-hit Wajima

Plane engulfed in flames on airport runway in Tokyo

Watch: How the Japan passenger plane burst into flames

Toppled building in Japan

Toppled buildings, wrecked boats seen from air in Japan

Trail of smoke and flames as plane lands on runway

Watch: Plane turns into fireball as it lands on runway

Huge fire engulfs plane

Watch: First pictures of plane on fire on Tokyo runway

Jean MacKenzie walks along road with damaged buildings on either side

Watch: BBC visits earthquake region in Japan

People crouch inside shopping mall during earthquake in Japan

Watch: How earthquake shook Japan on New Year's Day

People in Kanazawa

Alarm in Kanazawa as city rocked by earthquake

Earthquake in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan

Moment quake hits Japan coastal town

Christmas tree lit up in Kyiv

A tour round the world's Christmas lights

Ben Rick in front of weather graphic

Latest forecast as Storm Bert brings floods and gales

BBC Weather's Ben Rich has the latest forecast as the storm continues to bring challenging weather conditions across the UK.

Science & Environment

BBC Scotland's Judith Ralston says there is also a weather warning as high winds are expected to hit the Western Isles and the north-west

Storm Bert brings rain and high winds on Sunday

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning until 07:00 on Sunday for some parts of Scotland

Science & Environment

With some travel disruption, children and dogs have been enjoying the cold weather

Watch: Scotland under a blanket of snow from Storm Bert

Children and dogs have been enjoying the cold weather despite the freezing conditions.

Science & Environment

People in high-vis jackets walk next to a car submerged in floods on the left of a split screen with a snowy road on the right

Atmospheric river dumps snow and record rain on California

The weather event has multiplied damages from the 'bomb cyclone' seen in the US north-west earlier this week.

Science & Environment

A man walks in front of an uprooted tree, the roots of which tower over him

Fallen trees cause widespread damage after bomb cyclone

Two people died in the storm that hit the West coast of the US and Canada overnight.

Science & Environment

A yellow alert for high winds gusting up to 60 mph (97km/h) covers the whole of Scotland

Weather forecast ahead of Storm Ashley

A yellow alert for high winds gusting up to 60 mph (97km/h) covers the whole of Scotland.

Science & Environment

The Hunter's supermoon is seen shining brightly between two buildings, as the moon shines through London's skyline on 17 OCtober

Stargazers around the world catch supermoon

The brightness of the moon would allow ancient communities to increase hunting at this time of year - hence the name.

Science & Environment

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster fires out of its exhaust at the bottom of the rocket itself while it lands into the rocket launcher holder that it fired out of, during SpaceX Starship's fifth flight test, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S., October 13, 2024

Watch: Why is the latest SpaceX rocket test a big deal?

The BBC's Pallab Ghosh explores why this world first test is a big deal for space exploration.

Science & Environment

SpaceX Starship booster caught in mid air

Watch astonishing moment Starship booster caught in mid-air 'chopsticks manoeuvre'

It’s the first time the "chopsticks manoeuvre" has been attempted, with previous boosters landing in the ocean.

Science & Environment

Split screen showing weather presenter giving remote update and Hurricane Milton satellite image

Meteorologist becomes emotional giving Hurricane Milton update

The weather system has rapidly intensified into a category five storm with winds of up to 175mph (281km/h).

Science & Environment

Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore grin as they float aboard the International Space Station

'Space is my happy place,' says stranded astronaut

Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore gave an update from the ISS on their extended stay in space.

Science & Environment

Sarah Gillis emerges from a capsule into dark space

Watch: Key moments from first non-professional spacewalk

Isaacman said the Earth looked like a "perfect world" as he stepped out into space for the first time.

Science & Environment

Bow of Titanic missing section of railing

Video shows Titanic missing large section of railing

The discovery was made during a series of dives by underwater robots this summer.

Science & Environment

A video grab shows the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) flickering over the earth's surface with the moon setting in the background, and parts of the Internation Space Station (ISS) visible in the foreground. The Earth's curvature can be seen as it rotates

Watch: The Northern Lights seen from space

A timelapse captured from the International Space Station shows the Moon setting into streams of aurora.

Science & Environment

Pink and green Northern Lights hang in the sky above a car in a field

Timelapse shows Northern Lights glowing above Wisconsin

The footage reveals the light show that concurred with the Perseid meteor shower earlier this week.

Science & Environment

The Titan Arum plant took 12 years before it successfully flowered in the venue's Glasshouse in 2015.

Rare 'corpse flower' blooms in botanical gardens

The Titan Arum plant produces a stench that has been compared to decaying flesh or smelly socks.

Science & Environment

Column of fire after rocket sets off from launch pad

Moment Ariane-6 rocket blasts into space on first flight

The vehicle set off from a launchpad in French Guiana on a demonstration mission.

Science & Environment

High winds and waves on coast

High winds and heavy rain as Caribbean hit by hurricane

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall with floods in Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.

Science & Environment

Humpback whale's tail

Why scientists are using a crossbow to study whales

Researchers use the device to take remote biopsies from wild humpback whales to monitor their health.

Science & Environment

Female duck and chicks

Duckling family march to safety at Hardwick Hall

The annual duck march has been a tradition at Sedgefield’s Hardwick Hall Hotel for the past 24 years.

Science & Environment