Tag: hayabusa2

Asteroid to come closer than the Moon! NASA reveals details of close approach
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Asteroid to come closer than the Moon! NASA reveals details of close approach

[ad_1] To discover, monitor and study asteroids in space, NASA has several space telescopes and ground-based observatories in place. These include the famous Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope. Moreover, spacecraft such as Dawn, OSIRIS-REx, and Hayabusa2 have also helped in studying these ancient space rocks. As of now, there are 1,298,210 known asteroids in space and while not all of them are dangerous, some of them can get knocked off their orbit due to interaction with a planet's gravitational field such as Jupiter, and head towards Earth for potential impact. Therefore, to remove the uncertainties around the asteroid's approach, it is imperative that we track them.In a new development, NASA has now revealed that an asteroid is all set to pass the planet an...
If 900-metre Asteroid Ryugu hits Earth, will we survive the awful catastrophe?
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If 900-metre Asteroid Ryugu hits Earth, will we survive the awful catastrophe?

[ad_1] In 2014, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) sent a spacecraft called Hayabusa2 on a unique mission. The spacecraft was tasked with landing on an asteroid named Ryugu and to collect rock samples from it. The spacecraft successfully completed its mission in 2020 when it returned with rock samples. In addition to collecting samples, the spacecraft also landed rovers, hit it with projectiles and spent months observing it closely. And now, after spending time analyzing the sample, scientists have been able to answer a terrifying question. What would happen if the asteroid Ryugu were to strike the Earth?The reason scientists are asking this question and are trying to find answers is because of two factors. Most of the time, when estimations around the impact of an asteroid s...
Shocking space fact! Asteroid Ryugu samples reveal it is OLDER than the solar system
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Shocking space fact! Asteroid Ryugu samples reveal it is OLDER than the solar system

[ad_1] Ever since the samples from the asteroid Ryugu were delivered by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2020, the excitement among the astronomers has been at an all time high. And that is mainly because it is believed that this pristine piece of celestial dirt can finally answer questions around the origin of life, how the solar system was formed and more. But now, the earliest studies are coming out after two years of research into the samples and the revelations are even more shocking. It turns out that Ryugu could be older than the solar system itself.The study was published in the Science journal and it concluded, “The organic matter in Ryugu probably consists of primordial materials that formed during (or before) the early stages of th...
Scientists find TRUTH behind asteroid Ryugu; Know what it says about the solar system
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Scientists find TRUTH behind asteroid Ryugu; Know what it says about the solar system

[ad_1] The analysis of samples from the asteroid Ryugu has revealed the constituents that the early solar system could have been made up of. The solar system is essentially the reason why we exist today. So, it is not really surprising that humans have always been fascinated by the origin of the solar system. But despite a curiosity of hundreds of years, our knowledge around it is vastly limited. And that was part of the reason why the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to bring samples from an ancient asteroid called Ryugu. The asteroid was thought to be a carbon-rich C-type asteroid and of the same age as the early solar system which made its analysis very important. The scientists working with the Japanese Space agency also developed a non-d...