This photo, provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JXA), shows soil samples seen inside the container of a re-entry capsule brought back by Haibusa 2 on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at Sagamihara near Tokyo. Japan’s space officials agency said Tuesday it had found more than the expected amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule returning the country’s Haibusa 2 spacecraft from a distant planet this month, a sample-return mission it hailed as a landmark for planetary exploration. )
Japan’s space agency officials said Tuesday they have found more than the expected amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule returning from the country’s Haibusa 2 spacecraft this month, a mission they hail as a target for planetary research.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said its staff initially spotted some black particles sitting under the capsule’s sample catcher when they pulled the container out on Monday. By Tuesday, scientists had found more samples of land and gas in a container they had collected from two touchdowns of Hibusa on the planet last year.
“We have confirmed the good sand that is apparently collected from the planet Rayugu, along with the gases,” JXA Hayabusa 2 project manager Yuichi Susuda said in a video message during a news online news conference. “The extraterrestrial specimens we have long imagined are now in our hands.”
Tasuda called the successful return of asteroid soil and gas samples “a major scientific goal.”
The leaf-shaped capsule, 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter, was placed by Hayabusa 2 on 6 December at the end of its six-year round trip to Ryug, from space in the sparsely populated Australian Australian desert. 300 million kilometers (190 million miles) from Earth.
This photo, provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JXA), shows clay samples inside a container of re-entry capsules brought back by Haybusa 2 on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Japan’s space agency officials said Tuesday they have found more than the expected amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule returning the country’s Haibusa 2 spacecraft from a distant planet this month, a sample-return mission they hailed as a landmark for planetary research. (Via JXA AP)
The capsule arrived in Japan last Tuesday for research that scientists hope will provide an understanding of the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.
Hirotaka Savada, a JXA scientist, was the first to look inside the sample-catcher of the capsule. Sawada said he was “almost speechless” with pleasure when he saw that the samples inside had some like the size of dust, but some also had the size of gravel.
The clay samples in the photo shown in Tuesday’s presentation appeared to be filled with grains like the gran throat of the magnificent coffee grounds.
Savada said the tightly sealed capsule successfully brought back asteroid gases that are clearly different from air on Earth – the first sample-return of gases from outer space. Ryuji Okazaki, a scientist at Kyushu University, said the gases could be related to the minerals in the asteroid’s soil and he hoped to identify gas samples and determine their age.
This photo, provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JXA), shows soil samples beneath the capsule’s sample-catcher, brought back by Hayabusa 2, on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Japanese officials told the space agency on Tuesday that they had found more than the expected amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule returning the country’s Haibusa 2 spacecraft from a distant planet this month, a sample-return mission, which he hailed as one of the targets for planetary research. (AP by JXA)
Scientists hope that samples of asteroid’s crust could provide information billions of years ago that were not affected by space radiation and other environmental factors. JXA scientists say they are particularly interested in the organic matter in the samples to find out how they are distributed in the solar system and if they are related to Earth life.
Se-Ichiro Watanabe, an earth and environmental scientist at the University of Nagoya who works with Jago, said having more sample material to work on than expected is great news as it will expand the field of study.
Samples were collected from two touchdowns created by Hybusa 2 on Rayugu last year. The landing was more difficult than expected due to the extremely rocky surface of the asteroid.
Samples were collected from the surface of the Rugu and in the second underground during the first landing. Each was stored separately. JX said it will examine the second compartment, which will be used for a second touchdown next week, and will continue the initial examination of the study material after that.
-
In this December 8, 2020 photo, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JXA) Haibusa 2 project manager Yuichi Shisuda is speaking during a press conference in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, after a capsule with an asteroid clay sample returning to Japan. Japan’s space agency officials said Tuesday, Dec. 15, that they found more than the expected amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule, bringing the country’s Haibusa 2 spacecraft back from a distant planet earlier this month, a mission hailed as a landmark for the planets. . Research. (AP, file by UU Nakajima / Kyodo News)
-
This Monday, December 14, 2020, in a photo released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JXA), black grains are shown, exactly, supposed to be Raiguno, in the nearby Sagamihara, inside the sample container of the re-entry capsule of Haibusa 2. Tokyo. Japan’s space agency said Monday it had confirmed the presence of black clay samples inside the capsule that spacecraft Haibusa 2 brought back from a distant planet last week. (AP by JXA)
Following the study in Japan, some samples will be shared with NASA and other international space agencies for additional research starting in 2022.
Haibusa 2, at the time, is now on an 11-year expedition to another planet to try to study the defense potential against a meteorite that could fly to Earth.
A Japanese investigation found black “sand-like” asteroid dust
20 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved to us. This content cannot be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Testimonial: Japan’s space agency finds enough soil, gas from planet (2020, December 15) https://phys.org/news/2020-12-japan-space-agency-ample-soil.html
This document is subject to copyright copyright. In addition to any reasonable transaction for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. This information is provided for informational purposes only.
