Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Japan begins space capsule analysis hoping for asteroid sample

Scientists in Japan on Tuesday began analysing a capsule sent back to Earth by a probe, hoping to find asteroid material that could offer clues on how the universe was formed.

Officials from Japan’s space agency said they were jubilant about the successful return of the capsule, which landed in Australia on Sunday after separating from the Hayabusa-2 probe.

“I’m genuinely appreciative of the fact that the capsule came back, after a 5.24 billion-kilometre round-trip,” project manager Yuichi Tsuda told reporters.

Scientists hope it will yield up to 0.1 grams of material collected from the asteroid Ryugu some 300 million kilometres from Earth — though they won’t know for sure until they look inside.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing (the samples) with my own eyes,” Tsuda said.

But that isn’t expected to happen before at least next week, with a series of steps required first to ensure the material is not contaminated.

For now, the capsule is “in a secure location” at a space centre in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, agency director general Hitoshi Kuninaka said.

“Now we move to the matter-analysis phase,” he said. The samples — collected last year — are hoped to include both surface dust and pristine material stirred up when Hayabusa-2 fired an “impactor” into Ryugu.

Scientists hope they can shed light on how the formation of the universe unfolded, as well as on the origins of life on Earth.

The space agency has begun carefully processing the capsule, beginning by collecting gas inside. It will be opened later under strict conditions, including a nitrogen-filled box for the capsule.

“The key is that samples will not be polluted by Earth’s environment… so they can be provided to researchers around the world,” said Tomohiro Usui, leader of the extraterrestrial matter-analysis group.

“If we see something black inside the capsule, which is itself made of aluminium and whiteish, it’s near-certain it is from Ryugu,” he added. “But that is just supporting evidence, and we’ll not be able to say something for sure until we do chemical analysis.”

The nature of the gas extracted from the capsule also needs to be clarified, though officials said they believe it too was collected from the asteroid.

Half of Hayabusa-2’s samples will be shared between the Japanese space agency and other international organisations, while the rest will be kept for future study as advances are made in technology.The probe’s mission has been extended for more than a decade, with two new asteroids now being targeted for observation. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com

Read More........→December 08, 2020

Asteroid over 22 metres in diameter to pass by Earth on Sept 1: NASA

WASHINGTON: An asteroid with diameters between 22 and 49 metres will shoot pass Earth in a distance closer than Earth from the Moon on September 1, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). "Will asteroid 2011 ES4 hit Earth? No! 2011 ES4's close approach is 'close' on an astronomical scale but poses no danger of actually hitting Earth. Planetary defence experts expect it to safely pass by at least 45,000 miles (792,000 football fields) away on Tuesday, September 1," NASA Asteroid Watch tweeted on Saturday. NASA estimates the asteroid's relative speed at around 8.16 kilometres per second. The last time asteroid 2011 ES4 fly by the Earth was visible from ground for four days. This time, it will be closer to our planet than before with an estimated distance of 1.2 lakh kilometres, closer than that of the Moon, which is 3.84 lakh kilometres away from the Earth. The asteroid, listed as a potentially hazardous asteroid, was first discovered in the spring of 2011 and passes by Earth every nine years. A "potentially hazardous asteroid" is currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid's potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth, according to NASA. Copyright © Jammu Links News. Source: Jammu Links News

Read More........→August 30, 2020

Russian scientists break ground in new asteroid discovery

A new name has appeared in the registry of minor planets. Researchers at the Ussuriysky Astrophysics Observatory of the Far Eastern chapter of the Russian Academy of Scientists have discovered a new asteroid. The Russian scientists claim that they were lucky to have found such a discovery. The unique discovery was made possible thanks to the Hamilton system telescope, the most powerful in the Far East. That equipment was installed at the observatory last fall. For the Ussuriysky scientists the discovery of the asteroid is a real joy, as it was the first time that specialists of that observatory have discovered a new space object among other objects in the Asteroid Belt. "We studied the space guest for several nights before coming to the sensational conclusion that that asteroid was unknown to the world", said Alexey Matkin, one of the authors of the discovery, in his interview to the Voice of Russia. "An asteroid is a common object which poses no threat to our civilization. At present time the orbital data regarding that asteroid is being studied in order to map a more precise orbit. It is the first asteroid to be discovered in the Far East and specifically at our astrophysics observatory". The size of the new asteroid does not exceed hundreds of meters. The Harvard International Minor Planet Center has already confirmed its discovery. The space stranger has received its own number in the catalogue, which has a registry of four and a half thousand minor space objects. Based on the unique number which contains numbers and letters of the Latin alphabet, one can easily determine when this or that asteroid was discovered, explains Sergey Smirnov, a researcher at the main astronomical observatory in Pulkovo and vice-president of the Astro-geodetic Union of Russia. "First of all a preliminary serial number is obtained. Its first four digits represent the calendar year. In our case it is 2014. Then follow Latin letters that reflect a two-week period during the year. The entire year is divided into 24 such time intervals. That is followed by digits that reflect the serial number inside that time interval. Only after this preliminary serial number an asteroid is assigned its permanent name. By that time a few decades can pass by. The majority of asteroids only have preliminary serial numbers and have no permanent name". Today, scientists discover up to 200 minor planets per year and only a small fraction of those discoveries are made by Russian researchers. The fact that the discovery was made in the Ussuriysky observatory is somewhat unexpected. Until recently the researchers at the observatory dealt with completely different issues, continues Sergey Smirnov. "The Ussuriysky observatory was initially set up to observe the sun and the influence of the solar radiation on life on our planet. It is good that the subjects covered by the observatory were extended and astro-metric research was added. That was why the fact that it was at that observatory that the new asteroid was discovered is such a big joy for our entire scientific community". The new asteroid could possibly allow us to solve more mysteries of our Universe. The Russian scientist believes that it is necessary to determine what family that specific asteroid belongs to. "Sometimes asteroid families are formed as a result of space catastrophes when various objects of the solar system clash with each other. Otherwise, if an asteroid passes closely to a large space object, such as Jupiter or Mars, dramatic changes in the orbit or even destruction can take place. In the distant past, billions of years ago in the early days of the history of our Solar system, such formation of asteroid families was especially powerful. But today we can often see the details of that stone-crushing in the gradual drifting apart of the objects of the same family". By the way, today the world astrophysics community is fighting to resolve another space mystery. The astronomers of the European Southern Observatory have managed to literally dissect the body of the Itokawa asteroid discovered in 1998. Thanks to extra-precise measurements the scientists have discovered that its various segments have different a density and structure. Despite the fact that the research continues, very few discoveries still have a great practical meaning, including the issue of fighting a potential asteroid threat. Milena Faustova, Source: Article

Read More........→March 19, 2014