"So Long, and Thanks for All the Samples" - Hayabusa2 Leaves Asteroid Ryugu
As of today, 13 November 2019, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft is on a year-long journey back to Earth after nearly 17 months exploring the asteroid Ryugu. JAXA has flawlessly executed the mission so far, building upon lessons learned from the first Hayabusa mission. Hayabusa2 deployed a fleet of landers, created and studied a crater using its small carry-on impactor, and retrieved two samples from the asteroid’s surface.
These samples are stowed away inside a sample-return capsule designed for reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. They will touch down at the Woomera Test Range in Australia in December 2020.
Studying samples from a primitive C-type asteroid like Ryugu will provide a wealth of knowledge about the early formation of the Solar System. These asteroid samples offer a key clue to unraveling the differences between meteorites that have impacted Earth and the asteroids that are studied remotely through telescopes. Understanding this different allows scientists to develop more accurate asteroid models using remote data.
Ryugu is particularly interesting because it shows features of hydration, which has implications for understanding where Earth’s surface water originated. Asteroid mining companies looking to find and process water from such a hydrated asteroid will be keen to learn more about the formation process and the implications for remote sensing observations. Future asteroid prospectors will not be able to send probes to every potential asteroid target, so they will rely on the results of lab studies to accurately model their risk for sending a full-scale mining mission to a target with limited data.
With Hayabusa2 on it’s return to Earth, it will soon deploy the sample return capsule into Earth’s atmosphere at 12 km/s, one of the fastest entries ever. Upon successful landing, scientists will have the opportunity to study the samples, hopefully providing insight in 2021.
To learn more, visit JAXA’s official mission website for Hayabusa2.
