We are unsure if they are trying to keep up with the high demand for illegal space dust, but Japan has attacked and attempted to harvest an asteroid 300947328km from Earth.
Asteroids have been described as "docile" and "passive" entities that do not provoke such attacks.
Japan maintains the mission was to "probe" the object with their Hayabusa craft, yet actually dropped a charge that was detonated. The size of the crater has been estimated to be upwards of 10m, taking a significant portion and leaving the rest unused and wasted after the kill.
Japan's thirst for knowledge at the expense of the asteroid is said to be collecting potentially large amounts of organic matter and water from 4.6 billion years ago, about half the age of the known universe.
The 30 billion yen mission amounts to roughly $373,454,847.00 AUD and the remnants will be stored until it reaches its landing site in South Australia in 2020.
We have been outspoken on our position opposed to space poaching and South Australia's complicity in this matter. We have reached out to Sea Shepherd about a possible spacecraft dissuading the immoral use of asteroid material while pace remains bereft of international laws.
