CASPER
New member
Japanese space officials have found intriguing dust-like particles inside the sample capsule from the asteroid probe Hayabusa, but whether they are actually pieces of an asteroid or contamination from Earth remains to be seen, Japan's space agency announced Tuesday.
The tiny particles were discovered after scientists opened the Hayabusa probe's sample container, which returned to Earth on June 13 after a seven-year journey to the asteroid Itokawa. Scientists began opening the capsule on June 24, officials with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
"The fact is that the JAXA scientists found some particles in the sample container and the sample catcher," JAXA spokesperson Makoto Miwada told SPACE.com. [Photos of the asteroid probe's particles.]
In a Tuesday statement in English, JAXA officials said scientists are unsure if the particles are asteroid samples or contamination from Earth. The announcement came after earlier Japanese news reports stating that trace gases had also been found inside the capsule.
Japan's Hayabusa mission was an ambitious expedition to return the first-ever samples of an asteroid back to Earth. The robotic spacecraft launched in 2003, but suffered several failures – including malfunctions with its sample collection devices.
The Hayabusa probe landed on Itokawa twice in 2005 in attempts to collect asteroid samples. Mission scientists hoped that at least some bits of the asteroid Itokawa, a silicon-rich space rock, managed to fly inside the spacecraft's sample capsule for return to Earth. This graphic shows how the Hayabusa asteroid mission worked.
The tiny particles were discovered after scientists opened the Hayabusa probe's sample container, which returned to Earth on June 13 after a seven-year journey to the asteroid Itokawa. Scientists began opening the capsule on June 24, officials with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
"The fact is that the JAXA scientists found some particles in the sample container and the sample catcher," JAXA spokesperson Makoto Miwada told SPACE.com. [Photos of the asteroid probe's particles.]
In a Tuesday statement in English, JAXA officials said scientists are unsure if the particles are asteroid samples or contamination from Earth. The announcement came after earlier Japanese news reports stating that trace gases had also been found inside the capsule.
Japan's Hayabusa mission was an ambitious expedition to return the first-ever samples of an asteroid back to Earth. The robotic spacecraft launched in 2003, but suffered several failures – including malfunctions with its sample collection devices.
The Hayabusa probe landed on Itokawa twice in 2005 in attempts to collect asteroid samples. Mission scientists hoped that at least some bits of the asteroid Itokawa, a silicon-rich space rock, managed to fly inside the spacecraft's sample capsule for return to Earth. This graphic shows how the Hayabusa asteroid mission worked.
