What started as an ordinary day for a group of scientists had a pleasant surprise on the day they opened an asteroid sample that had been dropped from space.
Two years ago, the Japanese space agency JAXA launched the ‘Hayabusa-2’ mission to the asteroid ‘Ryugu’, which is about 300 million kilometres away from Earth. The purpose of the mission was to collect samples and bring them back to our planet.
On December 5th, 2020 the asteroid sample capsule was opened and it contained a surprise for the team. There were a range of materials inside the capsule, including some unique particles that have never been seen before.
The team was very pleased with this result and they are now studying these particles to determine their origin. They hope that by examining them in detail, they will be able to gain a greater understanding of the formation and history of the asteroid.
The rare particles, which appear to be formed from minerals that are common in asteroid bodies, will also provide useful data for any future space exploration missions that are sent to similar sites.
The team is now busy examining the materials that they extracted from the asteroid sample and they are sure that there will be many more surprises to come.
Overall, it was a pleasant surprise for the team when they opened the asteroid sample and discovered a range of materials, including some particles never seen before. This exciting development could be a major breakthrough for future space exploration.
