The Hayabusa 2 probe returned to Earth on Sunday asteroid dust that could inform us about the birth of our universe and in particular about the solar system when it was born 4.6 billion years ago, explains to Europe 1 Patrick Michel, astrophysicist at the Côte d'Azur Observatory.
Do you know what an asteroid is made of?
Researchers may soon find out more.
The Japanese probe Hayabusa 2 on Sunday returned to Earth samples of an asteroid called Ryugu, 300 million km from Earth.
These are samples of dust and rocks taken in 2019 from this asteroid.
It took a long time to make the return trip.
And now the researchers, about fifteen scientists in different laboratories, will be able to start studying what they consider to be treasure.
Congratulations @JAXA_en on the successful landing of the @ haya2e_jaxa capsule with samples from the asteroid Ryugu!
We look forward to our partnership in sharing samples from Hayabusa2 and NASA's @OSIRISREx - and to great discoveries!
https://t.co/hyFnZUbmwY
- Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) December 7, 2020
"Go back in time"
The capsule containing the samples entered the Earth's atmosphere shortly before 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, creating a trace in the sky similar to that of a shooting star.
This small container had separated from the probe on Saturday and the Japanese space agency (Jaxa) said Sunday morning that it had been recovered thanks to beacons in the Woomera desert (southern Australia).
Protected from sunlight and radiation, the samples will undergo preliminary examinations in Australia to detect gas emissions in particular before being sent by plane to Japan.
What has been brought back to Earth is a pinch of stardust: probably 1 gram of material, kept in a small box.
A precious material because asteroids are the remains of the bricks that formed the planets.
The material they are made of has not changed for more than 4 billion years, explains to Europe 1 one of the researchers on this mission, Patrick Michel, an astrophysicist at the Côte d'Azur Observatory.
"In a way, we are trying to go back in time, we would like to understand how the planets were formed and also how life emerged on Earth, so we chose an asteroid which is potentially rich in this organic matter which constitutes us", explains the researcher.
"It could be that these little bodies finally brought all these elements necessary for life to emerge on Earth," he adds.
Expected research
The composition of large celestial bodies like the Earth changes radically after their formation, under the effect of temperature and pressure, unlike that of asteroids, which are much smaller, explains mission leader Makoto Yoshikawa. .
Half of the material collected will be shared between Jaxa, NASA and international organizations, and the rest will be kept for future studies, as analytical technology advances.
"We have never had such materials, water and organic matter will be researched," said Motoo Ito, a researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
It also remains to be seen which molecules were able to create the oceans, a fundamental question to which cosmo-chemists will try to answer.
These samples will be able to occupy generations of researchers.