Asteroid explorer "Hayabusa2": Completion of critical operation phase

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the completion of a sequence of the important operations for the Asteroid Exploration "Hayabusa2" mission including the deployment of the horn part of the sampler that captures samples from the asteroid's surface, the release of the locks for the launch that ratchet the gimbal that controls the direction of the ion engine, and functional verification of the three-axis stabilization controls and the ground precision orbit determination syste...