ROCKET NEWS


 

Celebrate the arrival of Japan’s deep space probe at its asteroid destination with a dessert both achingly gorgeous and totally affordable.

 

While sports fans across Japan are fired up about the World Cup, there’s another exciting event happening this summer that’s been four years in the making. Back in 2014, JAXA, Japan’s space agency, launched Hayabusa2, an unmanned probe designed to study asteroid 162173 Ryugu, which was itself discovered by scientists in 1999.

JAXA has now announced that after a 3.2-billion kilometer (1.99-billion mile) voyage, Hayabusa2 has reached Ryugu, positioning itself at a 20-kilometer distance and beginning its initial survey ahead of collecting samples which will be brought back to Earth for further analysis.

 

To commemorate this achievement, Japanese convenience store chain Lawson has unveiled a new sweet temptation which looks like someone has placed a piece of starry outer space on a dessert dish.

The Butterfly Beauty Pururun Water Gelatin features lemon and herbal tea flavors, but what really makes it special is the flakes of gold powder, which are suspended within the lustrous dome and look like stars shining in the vastness of space, with the gelatin’s color gradation adding a greater perceived depth. The idea of somehow modeling a dessert after the starry sky was originally suggested by an entrant to a Hayabusa2-themed dessert suggestion contest Lawson held in the spring (confident of the JAXA mission’s eventual success).
 

▼ The concept drawing submitted in the contest

The Hayabusa2 dessert reminds us of the gorgeous crystal-blue water cube-like sweets Lawson sold last year, and with how delicious those were, you can be sure that this stellar-looking dessert is on our to-eat list when it goes on sale July 10, priced at 180 yen (US$1.65).