Hayabusa Post-Landing & Science Results Options

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The capsule began its return to Japan a few moments ago as I write this. Seems like a good time to start a new topic for the much-anticipated final results of this epic mission.

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Pandaneko, don't be too distressed. In English-speaking countries at least, we're quite used to media confusion & inaccuracy in scientific matters. (This appears to be rather common in other non-English Western countries as well from what I gather).

It's therefore perhaps not too surprising that you may be seeing something similar in the mass Japanese media outlets concerning Hayabusa's findings.

Personally, I would have been surprised if the researchers had assumed that all exterior particles (within the reentry capsule but outside the sample container) were of terrestrial origin. After prolonged contact with Itokawa, it seems quite possible that a few dust particles from the asteroid might adhere to the capsule.

[pandaneko]

Pandaneko, don't be too distressed. In English-speaking countries at least, we're quite used to media confusion & inaccuracy in scientific matters. (This appears to be rather common in other non-English Western countries as well from what I gather).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB43JKnTo8Y

Above is the link to a press conference that took place on 5 July. No sound from the panell.

The announcer here is saying two things.

1. 0.01 mm grains were found inside the tube.

2. 1 mm size grains, about a dozen of them, were found on the outside of the inner tube.

3. One of the captions says that serious investigations will start from end of September.

By the way, other earlier newspaper reports said that investigations ( and in fact sample distribution) will start earlier, in August.

At this conference they were apparently saying that 1 mm grains are thought to have come from Earth. However, that was yesterday (5 July), and between this press briefing and this morning (6 July) Prof Kawaguchi must have mentioned to Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, at least, that

he thinks that both inner and outter grains have equal probability of originating from Itokawa. That is my logical thinking by the look of the article carried by the same newspaper this morning (6 July).

Why prof Kawaguchi did not mention it at this briefing in the first place, I do not know. Perhaps, other press people except Nihon Keizai had left the venue earlier than Nihon Keizai reporters?

I really wish that they would send one of the 1 mm grains to NASA and see what they have to say before they go into summer vacation period...

Pandaneko