Ryugu asteroid [explosion]

This 870m-wide asteroid was discovered in 1999 by the [LINEAR](https://archive.ll.mit.edu/mission/space/linear/) project. [162173 Ryugu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162173_Ryugu) is classified as a near-earth (NEO), potentially hazardous (PHO) object, assumed to [share its formation origin](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200601152146.htm) with the similar-shaped, more popular [101955 Bennu](https://skfb.ly/6SZTA). In 2018, following a 4-year trip, Ryugu was visited by the [JAXA](https://global.jaxa.jp/)-operated [Hayabusa2](http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/) spacecraft, which studied it for about a year. The mission also collected samples from its surface, which are expected to return to Earth in December 2020. Photogrammetry based on [raw FIT](http://www.darts.isas.jaxa.jp/pub/hayabusa2/onc_bundle/proximity/v00/l2d/) datasets. Basic physics simulation cycle > accretion / destruction; Retopo + UV + 4K PBR textures.  Credit: JAXA