Following the mission's first sample collection in February 2019 and the creation of an artificial crater in April, JAXA is debating whether to try and collect a second sample from Ryugu. The risks include more of the same hazardous terrain that made the first touchdown a dicey proposition, as well as the possibility that more debris could stick to the spacecraft's navigation cameras, clouding their views.

In preparation for the possible touchdown, Hayabusa2 descended to Ryugu from 14 May to 16 May to release another target marker. The spacecraft uses these reflective balls, which contain the names of Planetary Society members and other worldwide well-wishers, to help guide the spacecraft during close-proximity operations.

The target marker would have been dropped at about 02:42 UTC spacecraft time on 16 May, from roughly 10 meters above an area named S01. S01 is just a few meters away from the artificial crater that Hayabusa2 created during the SCI operation, and likely contains material unearthed (unasteroided?) by the impact. A sample from here would allow scientists to study material from just beneath Ryugu's surface that has been less exposed to space weathering than the material that Hayabusa2 collected previously.