This bright streak across the night sky was caused by Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft returning to Earth in June 2010. It was returning from a seven-year mission to visit the asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa touched down on the surface of the asteroid in 2005 and brought dust samples back to Earth, landing safely in the Australian outback. 

Other spacecraft had visited asteroids before, but this was the first time that material from one had been returned to Earth. 

(Image: Kouji Ohnishi)