After six years and 6bn km, Japan's Hayabusa2 prepares to bring home cargo of asteroid dust

Japanese craft collected dust from the asteroid Ryugu that scientists hope could shed light on the origins of life

The last time Hayabusa2 was seen with the naked eye, Barack Obama was president of the United States and Brexit was a distant Europhobe fantasy.

Six years and three days after its groundbreaking mission began, the Japanese spacecraft will drop a capsule on to the Australian outback carrying pristine asteroid fragments that scientists believe could shed light on the formation of the solar system and the origins of life.