Japan's space agency says samples collected by its asteroid probe Hayabusa2 contain some pieces of gravel measuring nearly one centimeter..

Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, have been working to open the storage device of a capsule released by Hayabusa2.

NHK has learned that the capsule from the Hayabusa2 space probe contains sand particles believed to be from the asteroid Ryugu.

The capsule was retrieved last week after traveling more than 5 billion kilometers.