Having reached the asteroid, the spacecraft will blast a hole in it, collect samples and return them to Earth

Dec 3, 2014 08:21 GMT  ·  By

Scientists with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency are pleased to announce that, just a few hours ago, a spacecraft dubbed Hayabusa2 was successfully launched from the country's Tanegashima Space Center.

The spacecraft left Earth this December 3 at 1:22 p.m. local time (December 3, 04:22 GMT) and is now en route to an asteroid known as 1999 JU3. Should all go well, the spacecraft will reach its target sometime in 2018.

The details of this mission

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency explains that, having arrived at 1999 JU3, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft will deploy a lander and three rovers on its surface.

Besides, the spacecraft will fire a metal bullet into the space rock. The bullet will leave Hayabusa2 at a speed of about 7,200 kilometers per hour (4,500 miles per hour) and is expected to birth one heck of a crater.

After creating this massive hole in 1999 JU3, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft will collect samples of the rocks left exposed by the blast. These samples will be sent to Earth and should reach us sometime in 2020.

Information shared with the public says that the Japanese spacecraft will spend about 18 months orbiting the asteroid. During this time, it will land on its surface looking to collect samples a total of three times.

The lander and the rovers that Hayabusa2 is now carrying on its back will too get busy studying the space rock's appearance and anatomy. It's important to note that the spacecraft, the lander and the rover will work independently.

Mind you, this isn't Japan's first asteroid-centered space mission. Thus, it was back in 2010 that another spacecraft built and launched by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, i.e. Hayabusa, returned to Earth carrying space rock samples.

This spacecraft, whose mission lasted seven years, was the first probe ever to bring asteroid samples back to our planet. The asteroid that Hayabusa explored and poked at goes by the name of 25143 Itokawa.

Why study asteroid 1999 JU3?

It is understood that, to design and build its Hayabusa2 spacecraft, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency had to spend about $136.5 million (nearly €110 million). This impressive price tag alone hints at the importance of this mission.

In a nutshell, Japan has its mind set on collecting and analyzing 1999 JU3 samples because this asteroid is suspected to pack both water and organic material in its makeup. Hence, it might hold clues about the formation of the Solar System and the emergence of life on Earth.

“We expect to clarify the origin of life by analyzing samples acquired from a primordial celestial body such as this asteroid to study organic matter and water in the solar system, and how they coexist while affecting each other,” the Agency explained in a statement, as cited by Space.

“Minerals and seawater which form the Earth as well as materials for life are believed to be strongly connected in the primitive solar nebula in the early solar system,” it went on to detail.

To learn more about this Japanese space mission, check out the infographic below.

Diagrams show Hayabusa 2 asteroid probe. Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration.

Hayabusa2 is now en route to its target asteroid (5 Images)

Japanese probe is now en route to an asteroid
The probe launched just a few hours agoThe spacecraft will reach its target sometime in 2018
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