TOKYO - Japanese spacecraft returns to Earth after completing a mission to take samples of dust from an asteroid, the first time in history, scientists said.
JAXA, Japan's space agency, said the examples of samples brought in by plane from a Hayabusa asteroid named Itokawa, it could be an indication of the creation
and the formation of our solar system. the space object sampling is the fourth in history, including the moon rock samples taken from the Apollo missions, comet material taken from the Stardust mission and others. Similarly, as quoted by the Associated Press, Tuesday (11/16/2010).
Capsules from Hayabusa plane landed successfully in the Australian desert in June after traveling space for seven years and six billion kilometers, although a series of small failures continue to threaten the mission.
"These results have been beyond our expectations. I'm not sure how you can express something through your dreams," said project-chief, Junichiro Kawaguchi.
"JAXA has been analyzing microscopic particles in the capsule 1500 and stated that most of the particles that come from asteroids, based on mineral composition," said JAXA party.
Hayabusa plane, which was launched in 2003, reaching the asteroid Itokawa in 2005. After taking a photo-sized asteroid is 500 meters, Hayabusa landed on the surface in November 2005. The plane was then sent back to Earth after getting gas leak and had lost contact with the Earth station for seven weeks.
Hayabusa is designed to shoot a bullet into the asteroid surface, which will be destroyed and push the material through the tube into the sample storage box. It is unclear whether the bullets were actually fired, but the scientists believe that the impact of landing Hayabasa diItokawa has made several material dust upward and into the storage box samples.
JAXA said that the goal of $ 200 million project is to understand the formation and evolution of the solar system. The experts from NASA and Australia are also involved in this mission.
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