Scientists get their first glimpse of an asteroid sample from space

Japanese scientists have made their first appearance inside a sample capsule of the Haibusa 2 spacecraft, which contains planetary dust from a nearby planet called Raigu. As reported by Space.com, the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft launched in 2014 and reached Raigad in 2018. About two and a half years before the asteroid was observed and sampled before going back to deposit the sample capsule in the Earth’s atmosphere.

A large number of particles are confirmed to be in the “sample chamber A” inside the collected capsule (12 11 on 12/15: 10 JST). This sample is believed to be from the first touchdown on Ryugu. The photo looks brown, but our team says “black”! Returning the template is a great success! pic.twitter.com/34vIx17zOX

– HAYABUSA2 JAXA (@ haya2e_jaxa) December 15, 2020

On December 5, the capsule landed in the Woomera Prohibited Area of ​​Australia, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JXA) brought the capsule back to Japan.

“We confirmed that the black grain was believed to be from Rayuguna, were inside,” mission representatives said. Wrote on Twitter. “This is outside the main chamber, and the potential particles are attached to the catcher entry of the sample.”

The Hayabusa 2 spacecraft was able to obtain these samples by grabbing rocks from the planet’s surface and firing a copper bullet into the planet to expose the satellite’s contents. These two types of specimens “should allow scientists to understand how the harsh atmosphere of space has affected the surface of Rayugun.”

JXA has not yet announced when scientists will begin analyzing this planetary dust, but considering that “asteroid ancient debris has remained since the formation of the solar system, scientists hope that by studying these samples from Ryugu they will understand the early days of the solar system. Will help. “

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Adam Bakhhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter MadAmadBankhurst And on Twitch.