A capsule with soil samples taken by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa-2 from the surface of the asteroid Ryugu landed on the territory of the restricted area of Woomera in southern Australia.
"Today, as a result of a helicopter search, we found a capsule in the area of the planned landing!", - reported on the mission's Twitter.
Today (12/6) at 04:47 JST, as a result of the helicopter search, we found a capsule in the planned landing area!
- HAYABUSA2 @ JAXA (@ haya2e_jaxa)
Asteroid 162173 (Ryugu) is located three hundred million kilometers from Earth. This is a near-Earth asteroid of the most common type C - they are believed to contain elements of the still primitive state of the solar system, the protosolar nebula. These elements are protected from the effects of solar radiation and other factors, and therefore have important scientific value.
The Hayabusa-2 probe was launched to the asteroid Ryugu in December 2014. The main goal of the mission was to study the mineralogical structure of the asteroid Ryugu and take samples from under its surface.
In March last year, Science magazine reported that the device had found minerals in samples from an asteroid that contain oxygen and hydrogen atoms combined into a single group. As a result of the mission, scientists hope to find traces of water or organic matter, which can answer the question of the spread of life in the Universe.
