On 5 December 2020 one of the best packages this holiday season came in a small package, parachuted into the Australian Australian Desert from within our solar system.
Inside, astronomers were pleased to find the first significant specimens of a rocky asteroid, currently 9 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) away, and pulling it back to Earth in “perfect” shape.
Photographs of ancient pebbles have finally been released, and while the small, black grains inside are nothing but dirty charcoal, this galactic gift is rarely reprimanded. It is the culmination of a five-year long journey that requires careful planning and execution.
The samples were originally collected by Japan’s Hibusa 2 mission, which was sent to a diamond-shaped planet named Raigu and circled following the success of its first mission.
Samples of the asteroid Rayugu in the re-entry capsule weigh about 5.4 g! This increases the target yield of 0.1 g (the amount required for initial scientific analysis) set during the formation of Hayabusa 2.
(Article in Japanese: https://t.co/IZFGinhuFc)– HAYABUSA2 JAXA (@ haya2e_jaxa) December 18, 2020
The initial Hibusa spacecraft, with the first direct sample of the near-Earth object, returned to the asteroid Itokawa in 2010. Together, the surface material weighed less than milligrams, and it was still sufficient to obtain conclusive information about the age and geological history of the asteroid.
Ryugu’s new specimens – cut up last year – are still coming forward and contain more material than astronomers dare to expect about 4.4 grams.
The name Raigu refers to the magical underwater “Dragon Palace” in Japanese folklore, in which the fisherman introduces himself to return home with a mysterious bass – like the sealed capsules of Hayabusa.
The treasure in this case is billion. It is believed to be billions of years old – a remnant of our early solar system, with potentially ancient material that once formed our sun and its orbiting planets.
Opening carefully sealed rooms, astronomers have seen particles much larger than millimeters. In Chamber C it was slightly larger than the rest and was collected from the mission’s second touchdown.
A sample catcher chamber captured by a cattic microscope. (JAXA)
Because this landing purpose was a little to the north of the pit intentionally created in the mission, the researchers expected this sample to have a share of the sub-surface material. That would be quite an achievement, as all the other planetary samples collected in space come only from the surface.
Prior to these direct samples, most of our knowledge on the subject of asteroids came from meteors, which are asteroids or comets that seem to break themselves on the Earth’s surface.
Unfortunately, without the protection of man-made capsules, most of that material is destroyed or contaminated upon entry through our planet’s atmosphere, not to mention all the weather created once these rocks hit the ground.
Ryugu is a C type asteroid which means that its rock is very porous and contains a lot of carbon and water. Astronomers suspect that this particular gleam of dark debris formed millions of years ago, when it shattered another giant body somewhere in the planetary belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Because Ryugu’s surface appears unusually dry and shows a reddish color, some experts believe it once flew closer to the sun.
However, not all of the material collected in these containers is quite primitive. One capsule contains clear anaerobes (pictured below).
Sample catcher chamber C, captured by optical microscope. (Jaza)
“The synthetic material appears to be in Chamber C,” a press release from the Haibusa 2 project said.
“The original investigation is ongoing, but the potential source has been removed from the aluminum spacecraft sample horn because the projectile was fired to awaken the material during the touchdown.”
Later, a Update Said from Twitter that the still budget is still unconfirmed, but it may differ from the sample horn used during collection.
The curation work for the Ryugu sample is constantly progressing. On December 21, the sample catcher chambers B and C were opened and then the contents of chambers A and C were moved to the storage container in the photo. The largest particles in chamber C are about 1 cm. pic.twitter.com/yWO15cKhG9
– HAYABUSA2 JAXA (@ haya2e_jaxa) December 24, 2020
Scientists are already beginning to analyze these new samples, which include some of the gas dispersed inside the capsules, which are also believed to have been collected on the surface of Rayugun.
If the researchers are correct, it would be the world’s first gas sample to return from deep space.
Quite present indeed.
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