Hayabusa2 is currently heading back home after departing from the asteroid Ryugu in November 2019. But the spacecraft might venture on an extended mission after it returns to Earth and completes its current mission of returning samples from asteroid Ryugu.

In a recent statement, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) along with the Australian Space Agency confirmed that the Hayabusa2 capsule will land on December 6, 2020. Both space agencies are working together on the re-entry and recovery operations of the capsule which is planned to land in Woomera, South Australia.

But, as revealed by the official Twitter handle of Hayabusa2, the spacecraft might swing by Earth and head on over to its next target.

The Hayabusa2 project is considering an extended mission after returning the capsule to Earth. Plans have been narrowed down to 2 possible candidate targets: asteroids 2001 AV43 or 1998 KY26. Both are small & fast spinning objects, which is a type that has not yet been explored. pic.twitter.com/OYpQAyy7ob

After deploying its capsule containing the asteroid samples so that it drops down to Earth, the spacecraft will again escape Earths orbit and go to one of the two potential targets, Asteroid 2001AV43 and Asteroid 1998KY26.

As shown in the mission outline, the spacecraft will be able to reach asteroid 2001AV43 by November 2029 after executing a Venus fly-by. Alternatively, the spacecraft will be able to reach asteroid 1998KY26 by July 2031 after flying by another asteroid.

According to the NHK, JAXA plans will be selecting the next target by September and further plans on completing the complete Hayabusa2 mission 15 years after the spacecraft was launched.

Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample-return mission that was launched back in December 2014. After arriving at its target, asteroid 162173 Ryugu in June 2018, the spacecraft conducted various scientific experiments and landing operations with help from the mission lander, MASCOT for over a year.

The spacecraft is now returning to Earth after six years and might soon head to its next target for ten additional years. In May, Hayabusa2 completed 2000 days of spacelight as it passed the half-way point of its return trip. The report by NHK adds that JAXA intents to try collecting data on how equipment is affected by long-term space travel.

Today (5/25), Hayabusa2 achieved 2000 days of space flight & passed the mid-point for the return trip! The remaining distance is ~400 million km. Ion engines & flight course are good. Operations continue, hoping that Ryugus treasure will arrive at a peaceful Earth --PM Tsuda. pic.twitter.com/lBTtV9SvKA

SEE ALSO: Bennu and Ryugu Might Have Been Two Large Chunks From One Asteroid

Image Source: JAXA

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JAXA Shares Plan To Extended Its Hayabusa2 Asteroid Sample-Return Mission - Mashable India