Falcon has landed: Japan's Hayabusa2 probe touches down on asteroid

Unmanned craft - about the size of a large refrigerator - plans to collect ground samples, some 300 million kilometres from Earth

A Japanese spacecraft has successfully landed on a distant asteroid where it hopes to collect samples that could shed light on the evolution of the solar system.

Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) observing the landing from a control room on the southern island of Tanegashima applauded and made "V" for victory signs after the Hayabusa2 probe landed on the asteroid on Thursday morning local time.