Hayabusa2’s asteroid sample ‘treasure box’ has been opened for the first time

Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA has opened the recently returned sample capsule from Hayabusa2 And I found treasures from deep space waiting inside On Monday, the agency released the first images of material collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu.

Hayabusa2 is JAXA’s asteroid hunting spacecraft, which spent 16 months around Ryugu between 2018 and 2019. In that time, the spacecraft made two landings on the asteroid’s surface, collecting rocks and debris from its face and storing them. in a sample capsule, informally known as the tamatebako or “treasure box”.

Hayabusa2 then returned the treasure box to Earth on December 6, landing it softly in the Australian outback. JAXA scientists located and moved the container to a makeshift laboratory known as the “Quick Look Facility,” QLF, where they underwent tests designed to find trace gases in the container. This first glance suggested that the team had captured gas, but they couldn’t be sure if it was coming from Ryugu or from Earth.

On Monday, JAXA revealed that the gas detected by Hayabusa2 was in fact from Ryugu. A secondary analysis provided the same reading seen on the QLF, confirming that it is of extraterrestrial origin. This is the first time a deep space gas sample has been taken.

But that was not all. The agency also provided definitive evidence that Hayabusa2 has captured material from the asteroid’s surface.

The spaceship’s sample capsule contains three chambers, A, B, and C, to store the material collected at Ryugu. The first landing is expected to have trapped material in chamber A, while the second landing should have pushed the rock into chamber C.

JAXA was confident that the sampling had been successful during Hayabusa2’s landing attempts at Ryugu last year. On Sunday, the agency opened the container and found a fine, black grain on the outside of the main chambers. A good start.

The sample container inside the re-entry capsule was opened on December 14 and we confirmed that there were black beans that were thought to be from Ryugu. This is outside the main chambers and particles are likely adhering to the inlet of the sampler. (English release available tomorrow) https://t.co/NAw1R1cjvy pic.twitter.com/5BfXxfH29h

– HAYABUSA2 @ JAXA (@ haya2e_jaxa) December 14, 2020

During a press conference on Monday, JAXA revealed even more. At a specially designed facility in Sagamihara, Japan, JAXA scientists opened Chamber A. At around 11 am local time, pieces of Ryugu were observed for the first time.

The return of the sample is a monumental achievement for the tiny space agency and is ready to help answer some of the biggest questions in space science. When the solar system was forming, about 4.6 billion years ago, all the materials that compose it were circling the sun in a huge cloud of dust and debris. Asteroids, like Ryugu, provide a way of understanding that story because they are relics of the ancient solar system. Studying its composition gives us a window into that past, providing a way to understand how the Earth, and perhaps even how U.S, came to be.

Opening the capsule is simply the beginning of that time travel. JAXA will open Chamber C in the next few days and then begin evaluating the recovered samples using an optical microscope and observing the infrared spectra. In early 2021, the first details of the analysis will be leaked. In late 2021, the samples will be shared with other space agencies, including NASA. Collaboration with international space agencies will maximize the scientific output of the sample, which JAXA currently estimates at around 1 to 2 grams.

Hayabusa2 is not the only asteroid sample return mission underway. NASA’s Osiris-rex spacecraft aims to replicate JAXA’s successes for years to come. At the beginning of this year, was able to snatch chunks of rock from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. The sample is expected to return to Earth in 2023, providing an invaluable comparison to JAXA’s tour of Ryugu.