The Japanese space agency recovered a space probe with asteroid samples that may give clues about the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.
Japan recovered a space probe carrying the first sample from an asteroid subsurface after a six-year mission from Australia's remote outback. It may contain clues about the origin of our solar system as well as that of life on Earth.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said that its helicopter search team found the capsule in the planned area after it was released by the spacecraft Hayabusa2.
The ambitious mission sought to answer some of the most intriguing questions related to the origin of the planets and where water molecules came from.
Sent from a distant asteroid, a parachute helped slow its fall when it was six miles above the ground. The beacon signals were transmitted, which marked its location in a sparsely populated region of South Australia.
The Japanese space agency found it within two hours of entry and required another two hours to recover the pan-shaped capsule.
"The helicopter carrying the capsule arrived at local headquarters and the capsule was brought inside the building," said JAXA in a tweet.
Hayabusa2 was launched from Japan’s Tanegashima space centre in 2014 and reached the asteroid Ryugu in four years. It then collected a sample and headed back towards the home planet in 2019.
Astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "What we are really doing here is trying to sample this pristine rock that has not been irradiated by the sun."
Since asteroids are said to have formed at the beginning of the universe, scientists believe that it may have the organic matter to answer certain questions about the origin of life on our planet.
The gases in these rocks could tell the conditions about 4.6 billion years ago, Harvey-Smith added in her explanation.
Named after the peregrine falcon, the space probe orbited over the asteroid to map its surface for a few months before the landing. It collected debris after blasting a crater with the help of small explosives.
The space agency will give a briefing about it. A national broadcaster in Japan quoted Yuichi Tsuda, a project manager of the agency, as saying, "It was a beautiful re-entry. We are all very moved by this."
Spectators who had gathered to witness the return cheered and waved banners. They maintained social distance and wore masks in line with the guidelines to control the coronavirus pandemic.
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