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The capsule was successfully dislodged on Saturday when the refrigerator-size probe was 220,000. km from Earth, according to the Japan Aerospace Research Agency (JAXA). The operation had to be carried out precisely for a capsule of only 40 cm in diameter to land on Sunday in Australia, a remote and sparsely populated area of Sumera.
The capsule entered the atmosphere just 2 hours ago. 30 minutes. In Japanese time (Saturday, 7:30 pm Lithuania), he drew a bright patch in the sky similar to a “shooting star.”
“Six years and he will finally return to Earth,” the official said, commenting on the live broadcast of the capsule landing. JAXA officials rejoiced and raised their fists.
A few hours later, JAXA confirmed that the material had been sampled from the asteroid. A radio beacon helped find the capsule in the southern Australian desert.
“We found a capsule! With a parachute! Wow! ”Was posted on the mission’s Twitter account.
The capsule will be processed and shipped to Japan.
A year ago, Hayabusa 2 drifted away from the asteroid Riugu, which at the time had about 300 million. km from Earth. After launching the capsule towards Earth, the probe still photographed it and began to move away from our planet again, embarking on an expedition to another distant asteroid.
About two hours later, JAXA announced that it had successfully led Hayabusa 2, which was released in 2014, to a new mission.
Hayabusa 2 took dust from the asteroid’s surface and the first samples from deeper soil layers.
JAXA photo / Surface of the asteroid Riugu photographed from a Hayabusa 2 spacecraft
A few weeks earlier, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe successfully touched the surface of the asteroid Benu and took a sample of its soil. At the time, China announced this week that its cybernetic probe had successfully landed on the Moon, taking soil samples from the surface and from greater depths and transferring them to a capsule to transport the material back to Earth.
The substance extracted from the asteroid Riugu is believed to have not changed since the time of the Universe.
Larger bodies, like Earth, underwent radical changes, including warming and freezing, which changed the composition of the surface and the deeper layers.
However, on smaller planets or asteroids, these substances have not melted, so there are an estimated 4.6 billion still left there. Makab Yoshikawa, head of the Hayabusa-2 mission, told reporters before the capsule landed.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./ sourceHayabusa 2 “
Trevor Ireland, a space rock expert at the Australian National University, while waiting for the capsule to land in Sumera, said the Rugu samples would likely be similar to material from a meteorite that fell more than 50 years ago in Victoria, Australia. near Merchison.
“The Merchison meteorite opened a window to the origin of organic matter on Earth because we found simple amino acids in these rocks, as well as a lot of water,” Ireland explained.
“We will investigate whether Rugu could have become a potential source of organic matter and water on Earth as the solar system formed, and whether these [medžiagų] they still survive asteroids, ”added the expert.
The scientists said soil samples from asteroids, especially those taken from deeper layers unaffected by cosmic radiation and other factors, could provide valuable data. In particular, they want to find out if there are organic compounds in this material.
JAXA hopes to find clues to how such substances are prevalent in the solar system and how they are related to life on Earth.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Asteroid Riugu, taken by the Hayabusa 2 probe
At that time, Hayabusa 2 will continue its mission. The probe will now fly towards the small asteroid 1998KY26, which should be reached in 10 years. The mission chiefs hope to conduct other research, including finding ways to avoid asteroid collisions with Earth.
The Hayabusa 2 mission has been a complete success so far. In 2018, the probe approached Riga and during a year and a half of research, it twice touched the extremely rocky surface of the asteroid and successfully collected soil samples.
On the first touch in February 2019, the device took a sample from the asteroid’s surface. A more complex operation was carried out in July of that year, when the probe picked up the ground from a deeper layer, knocking down a small crater on the asteroid’s surface with a special device.
Asteroids that orbit the Sun like planets, but much smaller than them, are among the oldest objects in our system and therefore can help explain how the Earth formed and evolved.
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