Hayabusa2

7 years, billions of kilometres, a handful of dust: NASA just brought back the largest-ever asteroid sample

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Mineral, Travel, University, OSIRIS-REx, Johnson Space Center, Life, Atmosphere, Hayabusa2, University of Southern Queensland, Orbit, Asteroid, Moon, Spacecraft, Itokawa, Carbon, Element, JAXA, Apollo, Hayabusa, Planet, NASA, OSIRIS, Risk, Water, Dust, Curtin University, Desert Fireball Network, Meteorite, Sound, Physics, Solar System, Telescope, Palladium, Communications satellite, Computer data storage, Paraffin wax, Mars, System

Inside is likely to be the largest ever sample of dust and rock returned from an asteroid.

Key Points: 
  • Inside is likely to be the largest ever sample of dust and rock returned from an asteroid.
  • Extracted and brought back with great technical ingenuity from an asteroid called Bennu, scientists will now study in search of clues about the origins of the Solar System and life itself.

The origins of the Solar System – and life

    • Most asteroids are the rocky leftovers of failed planets and destructive collisions in the early Solar System, orbiting in a belt between Mars and Jupiter.
    • These primitive bodies – some more than 4.5 billion years old – can also shed light on the origins of life, because they tell us about the distribution of water, minerals and other elements such as carbon.
    • There is also an element of self-interest in studying these asteroids, to understand the risk they may pose if they are heading Earth’s way.
    • There are more than 70,000 meteorites in collections around the world, but we know the origins of less than 0.1% of them.

Bringing pieces of space back to Earth

    • They can bring pieces from a different planet or asteroid back to Earth to study.
    • The first such mission was to the Moon, bringing back lunar samples for analysis.
    • The Hayabusa mission, launched in 2003 by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, returned less than 1 milligram from asteroid Itokawa.
    • We will know for sure once the sample is carefully examined at Johnson Space Centre over the coming days.

The sound of fireballs

    • There are six OSIRIS-REx mission scientists from Curtin (including one of us – Nick Timms), and they will be among those receiving the first wave of samples in the coming weeks.
    • Read more:
      The Hayabusa2 spacecraft is about to drop a chunk of asteroid in the Australian outback

      Fireballs, or really bright shooting stars from large space rocks, are quite rare and impossible to predict.

    • When objects from outer space enter the atmosphere, travelling much faster than the speed of sound, they ignite the air to create a fireball and also trigger other less-studied phenomena such as shockwaves – which can be hazardous.

What’s next?

    • Both of these spacecraft dropped their precious samples to Earth and have continued on with the aim of future asteroid fly-bys.
    • The mission, now renamed “OSIRIS-APEX”, has already begun to redirect itself towards an asteroid called Apophis, which it will intercept not long after the asteroid zooms past Earth in April 2029.

Uracil found in Ryugu samples

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Comparison, Amine, Life, Bennu, Hayabusa2, Nature Communications, Asteroid, Spacecraft, Temperature, RNA, Dicarboxylic acid, Associate, Formaldehyde, Vitamin, Vitamin B3, Capsule, Protein, Niacin, Metabolism, NASA, Hydrogen cyanide, OSIRIS, Ammonia, Hokkaido University, Uracil, Phosphorus, Sulfur, 162173 Ryugu, Earth

SAPPORO, Japan, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers have analyzed samples of asteroid Ryugu collected by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft and found uracil—one of the informational units that make up RNA, the molecules that contain the instructions for how to build and operate living organisms. Nicotinic acid, also known as Vitamin B3 or niacin, which is an important cofactor for metabolism in living organisms, was also detected in the same samples.

Key Points: 
  • "Since the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected two samples directly from asteroid Ryugu and delivered them to Earth in sealed capsules, contamination can be ruled out."
  • The team hypothesizes that the difference in concentrations in the two samples, collected from different locations on Ryugu, is likely due to the exposure to the extreme environments of space.
  • While these were not detected in the Ryugu samples, they are known to be present in cometary ice—and Ryugu could have originated as a comet or another parent body which had been present in low temperature environments.
  • "The discovery of uracil in the samples from Ryugu lends strength to current theories regarding the source of nucleobases in the early Earth," Oba concludes.

Uracil found in Ryugu samples

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Comparison, Amine, Life, Bennu, Hayabusa2, Nature Communications, Asteroid, Spacecraft, Temperature, RNA, Dicarboxylic acid, Associate, Formaldehyde, Vitamin, Vitamin B3, Capsule, Protein, Niacin, Metabolism, NASA, Hydrogen cyanide, OSIRIS, Ammonia, Hokkaido University, Uracil, Phosphorus, Sulfur, 162173 Ryugu, Earth

SAPPORO, Japan, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers have analyzed samples of asteroid Ryugu collected by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft and found uracil—one of the informational units that make up RNA, the molecules that contain the instructions for how to build and operate living organisms. Nicotinic acid, also known as Vitamin B3 or niacin, which is an important cofactor for metabolism in living organisms, was also detected in the same samples.

Key Points: 
  • "Since the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected two samples directly from asteroid Ryugu and delivered them to Earth in sealed capsules, contamination can be ruled out."
  • The team hypothesizes that the difference in concentrations in the two samples, collected from different locations on Ryugu, is likely due to the exposure to the extreme environments of space.
  • While these were not detected in the Ryugu samples, they are known to be present in cometary ice—and Ryugu could have originated as a comet or another parent body which had been present in low temperature environments.
  • "The discovery of uracil in the samples from Ryugu lends strength to current theories regarding the source of nucleobases in the early Earth," Oba concludes.

Fujitsu delivers new technology to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for mapping and analyzing space debris

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Risk, Explosion, Emergency, NASA, Tsukuba Space Center, Orbit, Radar, Observation, ICT, Hayabusa2, JAXA, Technology, Space, US, SSA, Solution, Efficiency, Weather, Risk assessment, Communications satellite, Surveying, Fujitsu

TOKYO, Apr 5, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced the development and deployment of a new analysis system to calculate orbital courses of space debris for use with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) "Space Situational Awareness System" ("SSA system") for monitoring space debris.

Key Points: 
  • TOKYO, Apr 5, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced the development and deployment of a new analysis system to calculate orbital courses of space debris for use with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) "Space Situational Awareness System" ("SSA system") for monitoring space debris.
  • JAXA will utilize the new technology to create plans on effective space debris observation, drawing on observation data from radar and optical telescope to calculate the trajectory of space debris and perform comparative analysis with the path of JAXA satellites.
  • Moving forward, Fujitsu aims to further improve the accuracy of its analysis system and develop further technologies for application in space to contribute to the safe and sustainable development of space.
  • Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services.

Renesas’ Intersil-Brand Radiation-Hardened ICs Onboard the Hayabusa2 Six-Year Asteroid Samples Retrieval Mission

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Other Manufacturing, Technology, Semiconductor, Automotive, General Automotive, Satellite, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Hardware, Consumer electronics, Spaceflight, Spacecraft, In Japan, Hayabusa2, 162173 Ryugu, Outer space, Intersil, Renesas Electronics, JAXA, Hayabusa, H-IIA

Operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Hayabusa2 launched onboard the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on December 3, 2014.

Key Points: 
  • Operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Hayabusa2 launched onboard the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on December 3, 2014.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210225005273/en/
    Renesas' Intersil Brand ICs Onboard Hayabusa2 Spacecraft (Graphic: Business Wire)
    Arriving at the Ryugu asteroid on June 27, 2018, the Hayabusa2 asteroid samples retrieval mission was designed to explore the origins of the planets, the water of Earths oceans and source of life.
  • Renesas Intersil-brand rad-hard ICs were deployed throughout the Hayabusa2 spacecraft.
  • Our industry leading rad-hard ICs managed several Hayabusa 2 spaceflight subsystems, said Philip Chesley, Vice President, Industrial and Communications Business Division at Renesas.

Asteroid Day To Celebrate Fifth Anniversary with Thousands of Events Planned Worldwide to Raise Awareness About Asteroids, 27-30 June 2019

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Homeland security, Public policy, Government, Hardware, Fund Raising, Foundation, Other Philanthropy, Other Science, Science, Research, Technology, Other Defense, Contracts, Security, Satellite, Philanthropy, General Entertainment, Defense, Entertainment, Aerospace, Manufacturing, University, Education, Spacecraft, Spaceflight, Outer space, Asteroids, Hayabusa2, In Japan, Hayabusa

Asteroid Day events range from asteroid quizzes in a Dublin bar, to high-level discussions of policy and programs at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Key Points: 
  • Asteroid Day events range from asteroid quizzes in a Dublin bar, to high-level discussions of policy and programs at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
  • Asteroid Day Japan is hosting Asteroid Day expert Makoto Yoshkkawa, mission manager of the Hayabusa2 mission, at the Sundai Gukuen in Tokyo.
  • A new program of Asteroid Day 2019 is Asteroid Day TV , the only dedicated on-air programming about space and asteroids.
  • Asteroid Day Gala sponsors in 2019 include Tito's Homemade Vodka , Luxaviation , SnT , and Banque Internationale Luxembourg .