[...] explore not only the origins of the planets but also the origin of the water of Earth’s oceans and the source of life. Se uppdragsbeskrivningen citerat från deras hemsida längst ner i detta inlägg.
Hayabusa-2 landade (framgångsrikt) på asteroiden i februari förra året och klarade av att genomför sitt uppdrag.
Den släppte av en kapsel med provet när den passerade jorden. Hayabusa-2 är nu på väg till en annan, mindre asteroid som den beräknas nå 2031. Kapseln landade (välbehållen) i Australien idag och har nu samlats in av japanska forskarna som kommer analysera materialet.
Foto taget på asteroiden: 'A rover deployed by Hayabusa-2 sent back this image from the surface of Ryugu.'
Hayabusa-2: Japan spacecraft touches down on asteroid
22/2/2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47293317
Capsule with asteroid samples in 'perfect' shape
6/12/2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55201662
https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/sp ... busa2.html
This asteroid probe is the sequel to the Hayabusa probe, designed for returning asteroid samples. By investigating a different type of asteroid (type C) from the Itokawa asteroid (type S) that was the target of Hayabusa, Hayabusa 2 will explore not only the origins of the planets but also the origin of the water of Earth’s oceans and the source of life.
Hayabusa 2 will more or less follow the sample return method carried out by the first Hayabusa. However, many improvements have been made to increase reliability so that missions can be completed with greater accuracy. On the other hand, the probe will be put towards new missions using new technology such as technology for creating artificial craters on the surface of the asteroid and carrying back samples of the underground soil. Improving probe technology for astronomical objects in the solar system is an important goal of Hayabusa 2.
Hayabusa 2 aims to examine the Ryugu asteroid (162173). Ryugu is a type C asteroid, but it is believed that there were organic matter and water on the asteroid when the solar system was created (roughly 4.6 billion years ago) and that these still exist. The second goal of Hayabusa 2 is to solve questions such as where the Earth’s water came from and where the organic matter which makes up life was created. Still another goal of Hayabusa 2 is to examine how the planets were created through the collision, destruction, and combination of the planetesimals which are thought to have been created first. In short, Hayabusa 2 is a mission designed to elucidate the secrets of the creation of life and the birth of the solar system.
