Two small robotic rovers released from an unmanned Japanese spacecraft have landed on an asteroid 300 million kilometres away from earth.
Space probe Hayabusa2 arrived near the 900-metre-wide asteroid known as Ryugu in late June after a three-and-a-half-year trip, with two Minerva II rovers among its cargo.
Japan's space agency said on Saturday the rovers had landed.
An undated handout photo made available by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on 21 September 2018 shows the small rovers Source: AAP
The cylindrical rovers - measuring just 18 centimetres across - will make small hops on the asteroid, capture images of the surface and measure temperatures.
The asteroid is believed to contain organic substances and hydrated minerals, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency hopes the readings will shed further light on the origin and evolution of the solar system.
Hayabusa means falcon in Japanese, while the word Ryugu is an undersea place for a dragon king in Japanese folklore.
The explorer was launched at the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan in December 2014.
It is expected to return at the end of 2020 with rock and soil samples, the agency said.
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