Three years ago, the person in charge of JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that he wanted to be happy from the bottom of his heart, after the main analysis results of the research team were ready for samples brought back from the asteroid by the Japan probe Hayabusa3.
Analysis of samples brought back from the asteroid Ryugu by Hayabusa2 has revealed carbonated water containing salts and organic matter, as well as amino acids that are closely related to life activities, and about 300 research papers have been published so far.
JAXA and other research teams held a press conference to review the series of achievements, and Mr. Yuichi Tsuda of JAXA, who was in charge of the project, said, "We did everything we wanted to do and achieved results that exceeded our expectations.
As a future outlook, he revealed that he is considering a new plan to bring back samples of a small celestial body "Come" that is different from the asteroid and compare it with "Ryugu" to explore scientific differences.
In addition, a research team from Kyushu University pointed out that Ryugu also has organic matter that is not used by life on Earth, and that "it is a piece that must be filled in when considering the origin of life and why it came to use specific organic matter."
This result has attracted attention as a reinforcement of the hypothesis that water and life were brought to the earth by the fall of asteroids, etc., and some of the samples are still being analyzed by NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In addition, Hayabusa2, which brought back samples, is aiming for an asteroid with a diameter of about 8 meters called "1998KY26" eight years later, and is still flying today.