Japan’s space agency says a Japanese spacecraft successfully landed on an asteroid Thursday and collected material from under its surface. The Hyabusa2 spacecraft landed briefly inside a small crater on the asteroid Ryugu. The space agency reported that it rose safely from the surface after collecting dust and rock samples. Space scientists hope that tests of the material will provide information about the formation of our solar system. Officials with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, excitedly announced the results. They said data confirmed that the spacecraft had landed on Ryugu and returned to a position above the surface. After the operation was completed, everyone in the command center stood up and cheered. “It was a success, a big success,” said Takashi Kubota, a project member.