Astronomers and space eccentric the world over have been waiting to hear verification from JAXA ( the Nipponese space agency ) that the tumultuous Hayabusa mission did indeed bring back sample of asteroid rubble . Todaythey got it .
For the first clip , scientist have collected detritus from an extraterrestrial asteroid and return it to Earth for study . So far , JAXA scientists have collected about 1,500 particle of asteroid dust from Hayabusa ’s sample distribution return capsule , which was jettisoned to Earth before the larger Hayabusa slyness incinerated upon re - entry . JAXA announced back in July that the sample distribution space capsule did indeed contain some dust , but at that point it was unclear whether those particles were actually from the asteroid Itokawa where Hayabusa land in 2005 or contamination from Earth .
Using a glance over negatron microscope , JAXA scientist get hold iron - rich olivine and pyroxene particles , most of which are less than 10 micrometer across , ordered with our sympathy of the asteroid ’s composition and ruling out the theory they came from Earth . They also confirm that Itokawa is an second - character asteroid – a aqueous assembling of stone and rubble make together by gravity – another earth - based observation confirmed by Hayabusa .
The success of Hayabusa , which launched back in 2003 , was very much up in the air . The first - of - its - kind delegation to visit an asteroid , collect physical sample distribution , and generate them to Earth was beset by Murphy ’s natural law . A fuel outflow , communication theory issue , and propulsion malfunctions all struck at various points during the journey , sum up three years to the trip . An attempt to drop a landing craft on Itokawa also failed , missing the asteroid entirely . military mission handlers finally decided to land the Hayabusa craft itself on the asteroid in an attack to scoop some asteroid dust into its sample distribution capsule .
Miraculously , JAXA ’s seat - of - the - pants mission handle worked . Proving not only that we can send spacecraft to extraterrestrial bodies far from Earth and bring them home again , but that in a exigency we have the technology to rendezvous with and land upon an asteroid . But practice makes staring – JAXA is already working on Hayabusa 2 , which aims to land a spacecraft on a carbon - rich asteroid in 2018 .
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