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The Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully launched a small capsule on Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet, the country’s space agency said.
The capsule was successfully dislodged 220,000 kilometers (136,700 miles) away in a challenging operation that required precision control, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The capsule, just 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, is now descending and is expected to land on Sunday in a remote and sparsely populated area of Woomera, Australia.
SPACE NAVIGATION THAT SUCCESSFULLY ‘PUMP’ AN ASTEROID IS CLOSE TO HOME WITH A VALUABLE CARGO
“The capsule has separated. Congratulations, ”said JAXA Project Manager Yuichi Tsuda.
Hayabusa2 left the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) away, a year ago. After he released the capsule, he moved away from Earth to capture images of the capsule descending towards the planet as he embarked on a new expedition to another distant asteroid.
About two hours later, JAXA said it had successfully redirected Hayabusa2 for its new mission, as beaming staff exchanged fist and elbow touches at the agency’s command center in Sagamihara, near Tokyo.
This November 13, 2019 file photo released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows the asteroid Ryugu taken by the Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft. (JAXA via AP, File)
“We have come this far with success, and when we complete our final mission to recover the capsule, it will be perfect,” Mission Manager Makoto Yoshikawa said from the command center during a live broadcast event.
People who gathered to watch the capsule separation at public viewing events across Japan applauded the success. “I am very happy that the capsule has been launched successfully. My heart beat fast when I was looking, ”said Ichiro Ryoko, a 60-year-old computer engineer who saw at the Tokyo Dome.
Hayabusa2’s return with the world’s first asteroid subsurface samples comes weeks after NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully sampled the surface of the asteroid Bennu. Meanwhile, China announced this week that its lunar lander collected samples from underground and sealed them inside the spacecraft for its return to Earth, as space developing nations compete on their missions.
In the early hours of Sunday, the capsule, protected by a heat shield, will briefly turn into a fireball when it re-enters the atmosphere at 120 kilometers (75 miles) above Earth. Approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) above the ground, a parachute will open to slow your fall and beacon signals will be transmitted to indicate your location.
JAXA personnel have installed satellite dishes at various locations in the target area to receive the signals. They will also use marine radar, drones and helicopters to aid in the search and recovery of the dish-shaped capsule.
Trevor Ireland, an expert on space rocks at the Australian National University, who is in Woomera for the capsule’s arrival, said he expected the Ryugu samples to be similar to the meteorite that fell in Australia near Murchison in the state of Victoria. more than 50 years ago.
“The Murchison meteorite opened a window on the origin of organic compounds on Earth because these rocks were found to contain simple amino acids as well as plenty of water,” Ireland said. “We will examine whether Ryugu is a potential source of organic matter and water on Earth when the solar system was forming, and whether they still remain intact on the asteroid.”
Scientists say they believe the samples, especially those taken below the asteroid’s surface, contain valuable data that is unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors. They are particularly interested in analyzing organic materials in samples.
JAXA hopes to find clues about how materials are distributed in the solar system and how they relate to life on Earth. Yoshikawa, the mission director, said 0.1 grams of powder would be enough to carry out all the planned investigations.
In this image made from a video provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), its members react at the command center in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo, on Saturday, December 5, 2020, after officials JAXA confirmed the successful separation of a capsule from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. (JAXA via AP)
For Hayabusa2, it is not the end of the mission that began in 2014. It is now heading to a small asteroid named 1998KY26 on a journey scheduled to take 10 years one-way, for possible investigation, including finding ways to prevent it from meteorites hit Earth.
So far, your mission has been totally successful. It landed twice on Ryugu despite the asteroid’s extremely rocky surface, and successfully collected data and samples during the year and a half it passed near Ryugu after arriving there in June 2018.
On its first landing in February 2019, it collected dust samples from the surface. On a more challenging mission in July of that year, it collected underground samples of the asteroid for the first time in space history after landing in a crater it previously created by blowing up the asteroid’s surface.
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Asteroids, which orbit the sun but are much smaller than planets, are among the oldest objects in the solar system and can therefore help explain how Earth evolved.
Ryugu in Japanese means “Dragon Palace”, the name of a castle at the bottom of the sea in a Japanese folk tale.
