Journey into Space: Hayabusa 2

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Spacecraft properties
Launch mass 	Total: 590 kg
Dimensions 	2 × 1.6 × 1.25 m
Launch date 	3 December 2014, 04:22 UTC
Rocket 		H-IIA 
Launch site 	LA-Y, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Landing date 	December 2020 (planned)
Flyby of Earth: 
Closest approach 	3 December 2015
Distance 	3,090 km
Orbital insertion 	July 2018 (planned)
Orbital departure 	December 2019 (planned)
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Hayabusa2 is a mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Fascinatingly, it is a return mission,so it will return to Earth after reaching the comet. It follows on from the earlier Hayabusa and addresses weak points identified in that mission. It is a mission planned to study asteroids. An artist’s concept of Hayabusa-2 approaching asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is seen in the picture (Image Credit: JAXA).
Initially, launch was planned for 30 November 2014, but was delayed to 3 December 2014 04:22 UTC. The target is the asteroid 162173 Ryugu (formerly called 1999 JU_3 ). Hayabusa2 is expected to arrive at the target in a short time, in July 2018. It will survey the asteroid for one and a half years. It will then depart in December 2019, and return to Earth in December 2020.
The spacecraft features ion engines upgraded guidance and navigation technology, antennas and attitude control. Operations at the asteroid will be similar to those of the previous Hayabusa, but with an explosive device to dig the asteroid surface for fresh sample material. The estimated cost of the project is 16.4 billion yen.
The NEC Corp., the builder of the Hayabusa probe, began the systems design of the 590 kg spacecraft, its Ka-band communications system and an intermediate infrared camera. The German Aerospace Center built a small lander called MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout) for the mission in a cooperation with the French space agency CNES The MASCOT carries an infrared spectrometer, a magnetometer, a radiometer and a camera, and is capable of lifting off of the asteroid to reposition itself for further measurements.
The Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) is a small drop-off explosively formed penetrator, consisting of a 2.5 kilogram copper projectile and a 4.5 kilogram shaped charge. It will be dropped off from Hayabusa2; the low gravity leaves the spacecraft enough time to maneuvre to the opposite side of the asteroid. A second instrument will then be deployed, the deployable camera (DCAM3). This camera will observe the explosion of the Small Carry-on Impactor instrument. The copper penetrator will strike the asteroid with a velocity of 2 km/s. The crater formed by the impact will be the site of further observations by the spacecraft.
Hayabusa2 will seek the origins of life in space.
Scientists are eagerly waiting for the spacecraft to reach the asteroid. After reading this, I am sure you are too!