[앵커]
In a week from now, surface samples from asteroid Bennu will arrive on Earth aboard a NASA probe.
Following Japan, which previously imported samples of the asteroid Ryugu, the United States is also expanding asteroid exploration in earnest, and reporter Choi Ra tells us why.
[기자]
Osiris-Rex probe launched in 2016!
It flew a whopping 3.2 billion kilometers over four years and approached the super asteroid Bennu, which is only about 500 meters in diameter.
It succeeded in collecting samples by extending its robotic arm, and flew again 2.3 billion kilometers to get close to Earth.
Osiris-Rex will drop samples to the ground from 100,000 km above the Earth on the 24th.
After completing the mission, instead of returning to Earth, it is re-entered into another asteroid exploration.
This is an exploration of the asteroid Apophis, which will be closer to Earth than any artificial satellite in 6 years.
This time, the mission will not take soil samples, but will remotely determine the composition of the surface.
The reason the United States is focusing its efforts on asteroid exploration is because it is believed that asteroids hold the secret that led to the emergence of life on Earth.
[단테 로레타 / 미 NASA 오시리스-렉스 수석연구원 : 태양계가 만들어질 당시 탄소가 가득한 소행성으로부터 지구 생명체의 근원 물질이 왔다고 생각하고 있습니다.]
Previously, 20,000 types of water and organic matter were discovered in samples from the asteroid Ryugu collected by Japan’s Hayabusa probe.
Among them, about 20 types of amino acids that make up the skeleton of life were included, further supporting the idea that asteroids are the source of life.
Another purpose of asteroid exploration is space resources!
It is estimated that some asteroids have reserves of rare earth elements and minerals that are 10 times greater than the total reserves of Earth.
The United States will next send a lunar probe to the asteroid Psyche, which is expected to be full of gold, iron, and nickel.
[데이비드 오 / 미 NASA JPL 연구원 : 프시케가 생성될 당시 금속 핵이 가장 먼저 생겼는데, 다른 천체와 충돌하면서 핵만 남아 광물이 노출됐습니다.]
In Korea, a project was proposed to remodel the Nuri to explore the asteroid Apophis, but it was canceled as it was excluded from the preliminary feasibility study last year.
This is Choi So-ra from YTN Science.
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