A space probe carrying samples from an asteroid has been retrieved from the remote Australian outback after a six-year mission.
The capsule from the unmanned Hayabusa2 carried the first extensive samples of dust from an asteroid.
It lit up as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere early on Sunday and landed in the Woomera restricted area, about 285 miles north of Adelaide.
It was then flown by helicopter from its landing in Australia to a domestic research facility owned by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Yuichi Tsuda, a project manager for the agency, told Japanese broadcaster NHK: "This is great.
"It was a beautiful re-entry. We are all very moved by this."
The capsule's samples could contain clues to the origin of the solar system, Japan's space agency has said.
The capsule - just 15 inches (40cm) in diameter - had detached from the Hayabusa2 craft 136,700 miles (220,000km) from Earth.
The subsurface samples it is carrying - the first ever to be collected from an asteroid - may contain information about life on our planet.
It is believed the data may be unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors.
Hayabusa2 left the asteroid, Ryugu, a year ago, after spending 18 months nearby. Ryugu is about 180 million miles (300 million km) from Earth.
Hayabusa2 will now capture images of the capsule, before heading for another small asteroid called 1998KY26, in a journey expected to take 10 years.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft recently made a successful touch-and-go grab of surface samples from asteroid Bennu.
