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WOOMERA, Australia – The Japanese space agency said Sunday that the capsule for its Hayabusa2 space probe was collected from the Australian desert in “perfect condition”, hopefully containing samples from the asteroid Ryugu that could help explain the origins of life.
The capsule appeared as a glowing fireball that lasted for several dozen seconds when it reentered Earth’s atmosphere before dawn, its protective heat shield glowing when it reached temperatures of approximately 3,000 degrees Celsius.
If the mission was successful, the capsule will contain two samples from the asteroid Ryugu, including the first underground asteroid sample ever collected. Scientists believe that organic matter and water existed on the asteroid when the solar system was created about 4.6 billion years ago.
“The capsule was in perfect condition. We are looking forward to opening it, ”Yuichi Tsuda, Hayabusa2 project manager at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said at a new conference.
JAXA Institute for Space Science and Astronautics Deputy Director General Masaki Fujimoto said during the same press conference that once collected from the desert, the capsule was taken by hand to a so-called fast-track facility for cleaning and dismantling. the inner sample container may be exposed.
An analysis of the gases that may have been emitted by the asteroid material is expected to begin on Monday.
Fujimoto said the team in Australia is eager to conduct the analysis, as the presence of gases within the sample container would indicate that the asteroid samples were collected successfully.
Scientists hope that the primordial material believed to be contained in the samples will help conduct more research on the origins of life on Earth and the evolution of the solar system.
The capsule, which was launched by the space probe on Saturday afternoon, landed in a desert near the Woomera Forbidden Area, a remote Australian civil and military aerospace facility that is also one of the world’s largest ground testing ranges.
The Hayabusa2 space probe made two landings at Ryugu to collect samples.
The first landing in February 2019 saw the probe collect a surface sample of the asteroid. The second sample, collected in July of the same year, is the first sample from the subsurface of an asteroid and was drawn after an artificial crater was created by firing a copper projectile at the surface.
The two samples will provide scientists with a comparison of the composition of the asteroid above and below the surface.
Although Ryugu is believed to have undergone minimal change since the formation of the early solar system, scientists say that materials below the asteroid’s surface would not have experienced the same erosion and potential contamination from other meteorite impacts as those on the surface.
At the beginning of the Earth’s formation, the planet was completely without water due to its proximity to the sun. Scientists believe that once the Earth cooled, meteorites with a composition similar to Ryugu gave it water and organic matter.
JAXA’s recovery mission is supported by the Australian Space Agency, which was established in July 2018 to develop the country’s space industry.
“This is undoubtedly our first joint (operation), in which we are working on a mission to another country,” the agency’s director, Megan Clark, said in an interview. “It is very exciting for us and exciting for our team to be able to support Japan.”
“Also, we are learning a lot through all of this. We are learning a lot by the time we are the ones who are nervous because it will be our mission, “said Clark.
The Hayabusa2 space probe was launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center in December 2014 and has traveled more than 5 billion kilometers so far.
Unlike the original Hayabusa mission, the Hayabusa2 space probe will not return to Earth. Instead, it will continue on an extended mission to explore asteroid 1998KY26.
While the Hayabusa2 mission has so far gone smoothly, the coronavirus pandemic significantly disrupted JAXA’s plans for the capsule recovery operation.
Travel restrictions have caused a reduced team of just 79 essential staff to travel to Australia from Japan.
Furthermore, the team went through quarantine twice, once in Japan and once when they arrived in Australia. However, an unexpected outbreak of coronavirus in the state of South Australia, where Woomera is located, put the entire state into a mandatory six-day lockdown, further delaying preparations.
Knowing that the Japan team would be isolated for two weeks upon arrival in Australia, Clark said the agency prepared a “welcome pack” of local South Australian wines, sweets and hand creams for their colleagues.
“It’s hard to isolate themselves, so we only provided them with small gifts and food, and made sure they had everything they needed so they didn’t feel alone,” he said.
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