JAXA

The International Space Station was a symbol of post-Cold War peace and cooperation, and the Russian announcement of withdrawal after 2024 signifies the reversal of that cooperation

Asteroid Ryugu was chosen for sending and returning a mission as it "belonged to a class of asteroids that are dark in colour and suspected to have water-bearing minerals"

Launched on Dec 3, 2014, the unmanned Hayabusa2 spacecraft touched down twice on the asteroid Ryugu, more than 300 million kilometres (190 million miles) away from Earth.

About two hours after the capsule''s reentry, JAXA said its helicopter search team found the capsule in the planned landing area

The landing of the capsule in Woomera in southern Australia is scheduled for Sunday, 02.00-03.00 Japan Standard Time.

Officials here said that Abe and US Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond discussed solidifying cooperation between the US Space Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Space Operations