A Japanese spacecraft arrived at an asteroid Wednesday after traveling for more than three years.The Hayabusa2 spacecraft is to perform a new experiment.It will create a crater on the asteroid's surface collecting pieces of rock to bring back to Earth.Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the Hayabusa2 is about 20 kilometers from the asteroidwhich is orbiting the sun 280 million kilometers from Earth.Over the next year and a half, the robotic explorer will attempt three short landings to gather rocks.If they are successful, the asteroid material could provide information about the beginning of the solar system and possibly life on Earth.Space officials say however that the mission will be difficult.Hayabusa2 will spend about two months looking for safe landing places on the rough surface.Because of the high surface temperature, it will stay for only a few seconds each time it lands.
