{"id":127899,"date":"2020-12-07T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/returning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed\/"},"modified":"2020-12-07T14:00:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T11:00:37","slug":"returning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/returning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed\/","title":{"rendered":"#Returning asteroid sample can help crack secrets about how the solar system formed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a237ed7c4c89\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a237ed7c4c89\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/returning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed\/#Tricky_sampling\" >Tricky sampling<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/returning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed\/#Next_steps\" >Next steps<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Returning asteroid sample can help crack secrets about how the solar system formed<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            What is your idea of an asteroid? Many people think of them as potato-shaped, inert, and perhaps rather dull, pock-marked objects \u2013 far away in deep space. But over the last ten years, two Japanese space missions \u2013 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/global.jaxa.jp\/projects\/sat\/muses_c\/topics.html\">Hayabusa<\/a> and now <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp\/en\/\">Hayabusa 2<\/a> \u2013 have dispatched that view to the history books. Asteroids are interesting bodies that may be able to explain how life on Earth came about.<\/p>\n<p>The Japanese Space Agency, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/global.jaxa.jp\">JAXA<\/a>, has brought back samples to Earth from the 1km-wide <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/asteroid-ryugu\">asteroid Ryugu<\/a> \u2013 touching down on December 6 in South Australia. The first Hayabusa craft returned samples from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/asteroids-comets-and-meteors\/asteroids\/25143-itokawa\/in-depth\/\">asteroid Itokawa<\/a> in 2010, which like Ryugu orbit the Sun near Earth. I\u2019m one of the scientists who analyzed the grains and am now looking forward to investigating Ryugu.<\/p>\n<p>Observations by the Hayabusa 2 cameras <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/science.sciencemag.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.1126\/science.aav8032\">have already revealed<\/a> some intriguing features of asteroid Ryugu (which means \u201cDragon\u2019s Palace.\u201d) It seems that the asteroid formed as a spinning rubble pile of previous generations of different asteroids. Ryugu shows that asteroids have a rich and well-recorded history, being bombarded with meteorites and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/science.sciencemag.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.1126\/science.aav7432\">weather-beaten<\/a> by the harsh solar wind and cosmic rays.<\/p>\n<p><em>[Read:\u00a0<span dir=\"auto\">Why AI is the future of home security<\/span>]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Many \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/carbonaceous-chondrite\">carbonaceous chondrite meteorites<\/a>\u201d like Ryugu are rich in water-bearing minerals such as clays \u2013 they may in fact have brought water to Earth. Intriguingly, observations of Ryugu suggests that it is not as water-rich as had been expected when it was selected as a target for this mission. It may be that the water in the asteroids it formed from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/hayabusa2-reveals-asteroid-ryugu-missing-water.html\">boiled off<\/a> as a result of internal heating by radioactive material. In contrast, Asteroid Bennu, which has been sampled by the NASA <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/lift-off-for-nasa-mission-to-collect-grains-from-an-asteroid-that-may-be-on-collision-course-with-earth-65112\">Osiris Rex mission<\/a> and will bring back samples in 2023, does seem to be rich in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41550-019-0722-2\">hydrated minerals<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"Image of Ryugu taken by Hayabusa 2.\" width=\"547\" height=\"546\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=599&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=599&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=599&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=753&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=753&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/373039\/original\/file-20201204-19-1wldzru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=753&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/syndication\/2020\/12\/07\/returning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fsyndication%2F2020%2F12%2F07%2Freturning-asteroid-sample-can-help-crack-secrets-about-how-the-solar-system-formed%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Ryugu seen by Hayabusa 2. JAXA\/Hayabusa 2, CC BY-SA\" data-title=\"Share Ryugu seen by Hayabusa 2. JAXA\/Hayabusa 2, CC BY-SA on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Ryugu seen by Hayabusa 2. JAXA\/Hayabusa 2, CC BY-SA on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Ryugu seen by Hayabusa 2. JAXA\/Hayabusa 2, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Ryugu could tell us a lot about the Solar System\u2019s history. The Earth and the other planets formed from small, rocky bodies in a disk of gas, ice, and dust called the solar nebula. Asteroids are the leftovers from this process. While the planets have undergone extensive changes, developing crusts, mantles, and cores during their lifetimes, asteroids have not. By studying primitive samples from asteroids, we can therefore crack many secrets about how the solar system formed.<\/p>\n<p>For example, were the building blocks for life present in that nebula, or did they develop later on Earth? If they were present in the nebula, we may be able to see them on Ryugu. Previous research has in fact suggested that reactions with water on asteroids are linked to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/after-rosetta-japanese-mission-aims-for-an-asteroid-in-search-of-origins-of-earths-water-35509\">production of amino acids<\/a>, which make up proteins. If we did find that the building blocks of life were present at the time that Earth was born, this could mean life may be more common in the universe than you may think. It may also help us work how organic material spread to planets, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/rover-detects-ancient-organic-material-on-mars-and-it-could-be-trace-of-past-life-97755\">such as Mars<\/a> and Earth.<\/p>\n<p>One of the advantages of a carefully prepared sample return mission like Hayabusa 2 is that contamination from organic materials on Earth are at an absolute minimal level. So if we find amino acids on Ryugu, we can be confident they actually came from there.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tricky_sampling\"><\/span>Tricky sampling<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Getting the sample wasn\u2019t easy, however. In order to get a piece from below Ryugu\u2019s surface, where the material is protected from meteorite impacts and radiation, the spacecraft had to move to a safe distance from it. There, it fired a projectile at the asteroid\u2019s surface. The small crater that was created was then visited in a brief touchdown when material was collected. JAXA are being cautious about saying how much has been collected, but we are hoping for tens of grams.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hayabusa2\u2019s second touchdown on asteroid Ryugu\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/agnSwV451_4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p>The same sampling mechanism was used in the Hayabusa 1 mission, but on that occasion, the projectors and collection were mistimed \u2013 leading to only a thin cloud of dust being collected.<\/p>\n<p>However, even that allowed us to work out how Itokawa formed and that it was identical in mineralogy to a type of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/maps.12909\">meteorite called \u201cLL5\u201d<\/a>. This, therefore, helped us explain how thousands of LL5 meteorites in our terrestrial collections formed too.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Next_steps\"><\/span>Next steps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hayabusa 2, which has been on a six-year mission, departed for Earth in November 2019. There was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/jaxasgm\">live YouTube coverage<\/a> showing the fireball of the return capsule, and a radio beacon within the capsule aided rapid recovery with drones and helicopters. The capsule will be taken to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/global.jaxa.jp\/about\/centers\/sagamihara\/index.html\">Sagamihara Campus<\/a> near Tokyo, Japan, for opening.<\/p>\n<p>Sample return missions require laboratory techniques capable of analyzing minute samples. We will be deploying state-of-the-art\u00a0methods including <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/alevelchemistry.co.uk\/definition\/organic-analysis\/\">organic analyses<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/trio-behind-method-to-visualise-the-molecules-of-life-wins-2017-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-85209\">electron microscopy<\/a>, which fires electrons at a sample to give a highly magnified view, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esrf.eu\/about\/synchrotron-science\/synchrotron\">synchrotrons<\/a> \u2013 huge accelerators that generate X-rays to study matter in minuscule detail. A bit like during the Apollo era of the 1960s and 70s, and the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/missions\/stardust\/\">Stardust mission<\/a> of 2006 onwards, the next generation of sample return missions will drive forward our analytical capabilities on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>As the return mission is h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening, the spacecraft minus its cargo of the asteroid sample will proceed to the last part of the mission, heading to a tiny asteroid called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.kyodonews.net\/news\/2020\/09\/9ab5e99aca8d-japans-hayabusa2-aims-to-probe-asteroid-1998ky26-in-2031.html\">1998KY26<\/a>. It will arrive in 2031 after a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of Earth flybys. Can Hayabusa 2 really land on this 30-meters wide asteroid? It will be a fascinating challenge. It could also help us work out how to divert asteroid that may be close to crashing into Earth in the future.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/151415\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/john-bridges-133759\">John Bridges<\/a>, Professor of Planetary <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-leicester-1053\">University of Leicester<\/a>\u00a0is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/hayabusa-2-returning-asteroid-sample-could-help-uncover-the-origins-of-life-and-the-solar-system-151415\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"post-article-read-next\">\n    <b>Read next:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>        Amazon&#8217;s self-driving Zoox vehicle spotted ahead of next week&#8217;s reveal    <\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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Many people think of them as potato-shaped, inert, and perhaps rather dull, pock-marked objects \u2013 far away in deep space. But over the last ten years, two Japanese space missions \u2013 Hayabusa and now Hayabusa&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/12\/1-copy-11.jpg&signature=ff971b67509b441a89a34eb7b0e92eb6","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[75920,74503,20618,76428,72694,34115,67821],"class_list":["post-127899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-asteroid","tag-earth","tag-japan","tag-meteorite","tag-solar-system","tag-water","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}