JAXA

The Japanese space agency, JAXA, will set up a studio on the International Space Station (ISS) that will provide two-way live-streaming video feeds starting in 2020 as part of the JAXA Space Innovation through Partnership and Co-Creation initiative.

JAXA's Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer is on its way home to Earth. The unmanned deep-space probe today fired its chemical thrusters to push it away from the asteroid Ryugu at a relative velocity of 9.2 cm/s (3.6 in/s), with the successful burn confirmed by mission control shortly after.

The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has sent a third and final rover toward asteroid Ryugu, as mission control begins to think about bringing the probe and its precious samples home.

​​The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released a video showing the climactic moments of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft’s second descent to the surface of asteroid Ryugu, which took place on July 11, 2019.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed that, earlier this month, its Hayabusa2 deep space probe became the first spacecraft to successfully bomb an asteroid.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is working to confirm that its experiment to bomb the asteroid Ryugu was successful. Today, JAXA's unmanned Hayabusa2 deep space probe deployed the SCI (Small Carry-on Impactor), which is designed to blow a hole in the surface of Ryugu.

JAXA and Toyota have announced that they have agreed to a joint study of the concept for a manned lunar rover for long-range Moon exploration. With a range of 10,000 km (6,200 mi), the rover would be about the size of two minibuses and could carry two passengers, or up to four in an emergency.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency​ (JAXA) has released footage of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft descending and making contact with the primordial asteroid Ryugu. During the rendezvous, the probe shot a bullet into the surface to kick up a sample for return to Earth sometime late in 2020.

​Japan’s trailblazing Hayabusa 2 space probe has captured physical evidence of the trail it has blazed, snapping an awe-inspiring photograph of a discolored touchdown zone moments after its rendezvous with the asteroid Ryugu.

​Mission scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are celebrating today, after data from its Hayabusa 2 probe confirmed a successfully touchdown on its target, a kilometer-wide near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu.

Mission scientists in Japan are preparing to lower their Hayabusa 2 probe to the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. As part of this objective, the team will fire metal bullets into the asteroid’s gravely surface, but not without having conducted a dress rehearsal first.​

When it comes to space travel, and space in genera​l, 2018 has been a busy year. It was one marked by remarkable technological firsts, dramatic incidents, and new milestones set. Oh, and space champagne. So, let's look back on the highlights of the year in space, 2018.