This weekend, Hayabusa2 will deliver the prestigious capsule – filled with material from asteroid Ryugu – to Earth.

The Japanese space agency JAXA is currently preparing for an exciting and charged moment. This weekend, the intrepid space probe Hayabusa2 will deliver an important package to Earth. It is a well-filled capsule with surface material of asteroid Ryugu. The sample capsule will land near the Australian town of Woomera on Sunday morning local time. And preparations are currently in full swing.

Monsters
Astronomers around the world are eagerly awaiting the delivery of the package. Hayabusa2 was the first space probe to collect relatively pristine material from beneath the surface of asteroid Ryugu. Moreover, it is one of the few alien debris that has ever been brought to Earth. “Ryugu is extra special because it is thought to include a type of asteroid that is the source of carbonaceous meteorites,” said researcher Eleanor Sansom. “If the samples taken from Hayabusa2 match these carbonaceous meteorites, they could contain amino acids – the building blocks of life.” In addition, the monsters will undoubtedly also provide more insight into the composition of the asteroids and the role they play in our solar system and the origin of life.

Australia
The specimen capsule is expected to hit Earth in the early hours of Sunday, December 6 in the Australian outback. Hayabusa2 will not land on Earth itself. The probe is intended to release the prestigious package far above Earth’s surface, after which the capsule containing monsters will blast through Earth’s atmosphere like a fireball. The capsule will be visible as a bright point of light in the sky for about ninety seconds. The capsule is flying from a northwest direction and will then crash to the ground in a remote location near the Australian town of Woomera.

The mission
The Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 was launched on December 4, 2014 and arrived at Ryugu in June 2018. The probe then released the three rovers MINERVA-I1, MINERVA-I2 and MINERVA-II and lander MASCOT on the asteroid. MINERVA-I1 and -I2 were equipped with cameras (taking pictures as they jumped across the surface of Ryugu) and temperature sensors that measure the surface temperature of Ryugu. MINERVA-II2 also had a camera and could also measure the temperature. Lander MASCOT In addition to a camera, it also had a spectroscopic microscope and magnetometer that could be used to study the composition and magnetic field of Ryugu respectively.

Collect material
Then it was time for another milestone. Because in 2019 Hayabausa2 shot a few ‘bullets’ through Ryugu, causing some surface material to come loose. That material was subsequently aspirated by the probe. Hayabusa2, by the way, did not let it go at once. The space probe was still descending a second time to the surface of Ryugu this time to also be able to collect material that is below the surface. Fortunately, everything went by the book, after which the probe said goodbye to Ryugu with a well-stocked cargo box last November and set course for Earth.

What do we now know about Ryugu?
In the meantime we have already learned a lot about Ryugu. First of all, it is an asteroid; a small, rocky object orbiting the sun. Asteroids are debris left over from the formation of our solar system, so researchers estimate that Ryugu is about 4.6 billion years old. Ryugu was discovered in 1999 and is estimated to be about 900 meters in diameter. In addition, it is in orbit between Earth and Mars and occasionally crosses Earth’s orbit, so that the space rock is classified as ‘potentially dangerous’. In addition, researchers have found that Ryugu was formed from debris formed after colliding with an older celestial body. Researchers also found ‘inclusions’ that likely contain the mineral olivine and are similar to those found in carbonaceous chondrites. This is a rare and primitive type of rock that is also found in meteorites that have crashed on Earth. In addition, these carbonaceous chondrites are among the oldest stones to be found on our planet. The fact that these types of rocks also exist on Ryugu suggests that the asteroid formed in the early years of the solar system. Moreover, it appears that almost no fine dust particles can be found on the surface. And that is pretty crazy. Normally, dust accumulates due to extreme weather and other harsh conditions that occur on asteroids. The researchers therefore suspect that there must be some mechanism that, as it were, wipes the surface of the asteroid.

It’s almost time and then the exciting mission of Hayabusa2, after a total of 5.2 billion kilometers traveled, is over. And looking back, we can only say that the mission of Hayabusa2 is a fine example of high-quality technical ingenuity. In addition, the Japanese research team has performed fantastic at some 280 million kilometers from Earth.

Incidentally, the probe’s retirement is being postponed for a while. At the end of August, JAXA already announced plans for Hayabusa2 one more time on an adventure. It turns out that the probe used an estimated half of the fuel (xenon) in its working life. That is why it is possible to use Hayabusa2 for a second time. After Hayabusa2 delivers Ryugu’s monster capsule to Earth, he will turn around and heading for asteroid 1998 KY26. 1998 KY26 is a nearly spherical asteroid with a diameter of about 30 meters. However, we will still have to be patient. Because it is not expected that Hayabusa2 will arrive at the space rock until 2031.