[ti:Japanese Spacecraft Lands on Asteroid, Gathers Subsurface Material] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.16]Japan's space agency says a Japanese spacecraft successfully landed on an asteroid Thursday [00:09.24]and collected material from under its surface. [00:14.67]The Hyabusa2 spacecraft landed briefly inside a small crater on the asteroid Ryugu. [00:25.45]The space agency reported that it rose safely from the surface after collecting dust and rock samples. [00:36.72]Space scientists hope that tests of the material will provide information about the formation of our solar system. [00:47.58]Officials with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, excitedly announced the results. [00:59.14]They said data confirmed that the spacecraft had landed on Ryugu and returned to a position above the surface. [01:10.54]After the operation was completed, everyone in the command center stood up and cheered. [01:19.15]"It was a success, a big success," said Takashi Kubota, a project member. [01:28.05]He added that the operation had been successful in all its planned activities. [01:36.48]In April, Hyabusa2 fired a two kilogram object into the surface, creating a crater on the asteroid. [01:47.98]On Thursday, the spacecraft returned to the same area, where it landed for only a few seconds. [01:57.69]The goal was was to collect rock and dust samples from beneath the surface. [02:04.76]The spacecraft shot a small object into the soil and used a tube to gather the material. [02:13.79]Getting to rocks and other material below the surface is important, scientists say, [02:21.84]because it is unaffected by radiation from space and other influences. [02:29.05]JAXA said the samples have been safely placed in a container which will be moved to a capsule for safe storage. [02:41.00]The operation is the most important experiment yet by Hyabusa2. [02:48.40]Its next project is to return safely to Earth with the soil samples. [02:56.48]Project manager Yuichi Tsuda said that an experiment like this has never been attempted before. [03:07.52]"Nobody has collected and brought home underground materials from anywhere further than the moon," he added. [03:17.44]Asteroids are the rocky objects left over from when Earth and the rest of the solar system were forming. [03:26.41]The asteroid Ryugu is named after the undersea home of a dragon in a traditional Japanese story. [03:36.48]It is only about 900 meters across. [03:41.36]The asteroid has a rocky surface that scientists believe holds carbon-based substances. [03:51.80]Seiichiro Watanabe is a scientist with Japan's space agency. [03:59.84]He noted that Hyabusa2 had now taken samples from two different areas on the asteroid. [04:09.20]He said early pictures of the recent sample show that the material is of different colors and sizes. [04:19.41]Watanabe said being able to compare material from the surface and from underground was very important. [04:29.75]"I'm so excited about finding out about all these unknowns," he said. [04:37.05]The Hyabusa2 is the first spacecraft to collect samples from under the surface of an asteroid. [04:46.97]The United States space agency NASA plans a similar mission to an asteroid called Bennu. [04:56.17]Hyabusa2 will continue to take pictures of Ryugu until it begins its 300 million kilometer trip back to Earth. [05:08.05]It is expected to return home in late 2020. [05:13.96]I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM