A fiery burst of light over the Australian Outback marked the return of a Japanese space probe that scientists hope carried samples from an asteroid that could offer insights into the creation and makeup of the solar system.

It is the first time that a spacecraft has successfully landed on an asteroid and returned to Earth.

After traveling 4-billion miles (6 billion kilometers) in seven years, the Hayabusa explorer incinerated on re-entry just before midnight Sunday, after jettisoning a capsule expected to contain the first asteroid dust ever collected.