Hayabusa2 Mission to Asteroid 162173 Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Mission to Asteroid 162173 Ryugu
Hayabusa2 Mission to Asteroid 162173 Ryugu
Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Hayabusa2 spacecraft was launched on December 3, 2014 and rendezvoused with asteroid 162173 Ryugu on June 27, 2018. The spacecraft successfully collected carbonaceous samples and returned them to Earth on December 6, 2020 (all dates are Japanese Standard Time).
Asteroid Ryugu, a near-Earth and potentially hazardous asteroid, is classified as a Cb-type asteroid, which has a dark surface and a diameter of ~1 kilometer. It is considered to be made of water-rich and carbonaceous materials, important key elements that are relevant to life on Earth. The study of Ryugu and the returned carbonaceous samples will provide important information about the origin and evolution of the solar system, in particular, the inner planets.
As part of an ongoing collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 10% of the regolith collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft will be curated at NASA’s Astromaterials curation facility in a newly constructed, dedicated class 100 (ISO 5) clean laboratory. A highly experienced curation team will be responsible for the characterization, processing, and documentation of the NASA portion of the Ryugu samples; the team is developing manipulation tools and custom N2-purged sample processing cabinets to facilitate reliable handling of small (sub-mm to several mm) particles without compromising their pristine condition or their scientific integrity. These samples will ultimately be made available, through loan agreements, to scientists worldwide who wish to better understand the origins and evolution of primitive, organic-rich asteroids.
ARES scientists are members of the Hayabusa2 science team who have characterized the surface composition and selected final sampling and landing sites on Ryugu. ARES scientists helped build a comprehensive spectral library of carbonaceous chondrites that have been useful for interpreting data from Ryugu and will be helpful for characterizing the returned carbonaceous samples. They have been developing new mapping techniques to create high-resolution mineralogical and chemical maps that will provide geological context for the returned Ryugu sample. These maps have been produced using spectra of Ryugu that were collected using NIRS3 instrument. ARES scientists are also part of the investigation team that will perform initial analyses of the returned samples of Ryugu before they are made available to curation and research facilities across the world.
The ARES Hayabusa2 Team
Members of the ARES team span expertise from sample curation, spectroscopic and isotopic research, sample site selection, and research and development from an engineering perspective.