There's a good description of the planned landing procedure in the news item, Japan's Hayabusa2 space capsule to fall back to Earth after six-year asteroid mission.
Essentially human observers on the ground at Woomera and in the air, combined with radar tracking and the use of a tracking beacon will be used to track and locate the returned capsule.
As the capsule descends towards Earth at supersonic speeds, its trajectory will be tracked by teams of scientists spread across hundreds of kilometres on the ground and in the air.
As the sole international observer, Australian scientist Trevor Ireland will be on board the helicopter tasked with spotting the capsule somewhere in an area tens of kilometres wide.
"We should know pretty much where it is as it comes down," said Professor Ireland of the Australian National University, who was also on the science team for the Hayabusa1 mission.
As the capsule slows down in the Earth's atmosphere, the heatshield around it will light up as a fireball for about 40 to 50 seconds above Coober Pedy, 400 kilometres north of Woomera.
As the capsule slows down in the Earth's atmosphere, the heatshield around it will light up as a fireball for about 40 to 50 seconds above Coober Pedy, 400 kilometres north of Woomera.
"Last time it was very spectacular because the spacecraft came in with it," Professor Ireland said.
"This time we don't want it to be quite so spectacular, we just want to see that nice red glow of the space capsule coming in."
Once the capsule slows down enough, it will deploy a drag parachute and then a second main parachute.
Scientists, including four teams from the Desert Fireball Network at Curtin University, will track the trajectory of the capsule as it streaks across the sky.
"The Desert Fireball Network team will be putting out cameras all the way along the Stuart Highway to take pictures of this bright shooting star," said team leader Ellie Sansom, who is currently in Coober Pedy.
The Desert Fireball Network has also partnered with a group of Japanese researchers who cannot be in Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is putting out instruments from them that listen to the sonic boom and detect any ground shaking.
Back in Woomera, more than 70 Japanese scientists will track the descent using radar, Professor Ireland said.
"The radar guys will get a much longer view of it as it comes in because once the parachute opens up they'll have a bigger object to look at," he said.
A radio beacon on the capsule will help the Japanese scientists refine the position.
"The radio signals were within a few hundred metres last time," Professor Ireland said.
Meanwhile, NASA scientists flying on two aeroplanes will observe how material blows off the heat shield of the capsule as it descends.
"That last 10 kilometres is the big issue as it's coming down, once it gets into our weather systems."
If the weather isn't kind, it will make the retrieval a little trickier too.
"If it's not a very nice day, they'll try to get it contained very quickly so it doesn't get covered in dust or rain."
Once the capsule lands, a team including Professor Ireland will head out to search for it.
