Released capsule entered atmosphere at 5.30pm GMT on Saturday before landing safely

A capsule containing pristine asteroid fragments that may unlock secrets about the formation of the universe has been recovered in the South Australian outback after landing safely back to Earth on Sunday.

For the past six years, Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has conducted a remarkable 5.2bn km mission to extract the first-ever sub-surface samples from the asteroid Ryugu, which scientists hope will shed light on the origins of life.

Photographs of the fireball captured on-site. Welcome back.
(Collection Team M)#Hayabusa2#はやぶさ２#AsteroidExplorerHayabusa2 #HAYA2Report pic.twitter.com/b2ThFi33q5

In Woomera, collection work began at 6:23 JST at the re-entry capsule landing site.

Related: Hayabusa2 comes home: remarkable space probe could open another window into how life originated