Ryugu is a near-Earth asteroid. It is assumed that scientists will be able to explore samples of space material as early as 2020.
Among the substances that the probe is about to deliver to Earth are carbon and organic matter. The purpose of scientists in the study of material is to understand how such substances appeared and spread in our solar system. Space material was taken thanks to the operation of a special explosive device. Due to the explosion, the substance was ejected from the depths of the asteroid and collected using robots.
In 2018, small robots descended on an asteroid that weighs 450 million tons and has a diameter of 920 meters. Interestingly, the probe reached Ryugu within 3.5 years. The return journey will be much shorter due to the approach of the asteroid to our planet. So, in early December, the main engine is activated, so that the way home will accelerate.
It is planned that the probe will land in the desert in Australia. Negotiations with the government are already underway. Interestingly, in 2010, the Japanese probe was already returning from the asteroid to Earth with cosmic dust samples. Despite the fact that the landing was associated with some failures, scientists still managed to get enough material for examinations. Hayabusa explored this asteroid in detail. Scientists now know the slightest features of the surface of a cosmic body, the nature of the relief, the nature of its rotation.
Interestingly, for some time this probe moved as an artificial satellite of the asteroid Ryugu.This happened when the processor deteriorated near the probe, making it impossible to move along the surface of the object. Therefore, scientists decided that the probe should revolve around the surface of the asteroid. The circulation around him continued for several days. Then the probe again made a soft landing.
Japanese scientists plan that samples of material from the asteroid will be in a sealed capsule. Further, the probe will continue the journey and begin to explore other space objects. This is due to the fact that enough fuel will remain on board the probe. The nearest asteroid is 2001 WR1. It is assumed that the space probe will reach the surface of this object around the middle of 2023.
The results of this study are of great importance for astronomy. After studying soil samples in a laboratory, scientists will be able to understand what composition the soil had at a time when the universe was much younger. This will not only provide an opportunity to understand the mechanisms of matter migration in space, but also to understand how life was born. The results of analyzes of the asteroid will also allow scientists to understand whether the origin of life on other planets and their satellites is possible and whether it was there at all. Research on asteroids will bring astronomers closer to unraveling another mystery - the emergence of the universe.
