Mission: Hayabusa 2 Options

[Marcin600]

A new pdf from the press conference (February 4, 2021) has appeared on the Hayabusa2 website:
http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/enjoy/mate...04_ver5_en2.pdf


It contains the current status of the mission: sample testing (very briefly), the progress of an extended mission and several research results from the probe, including an article that appeared in Nature Astronomy: „Thermally altered subsurface material of asteroid (162173) Ryugu”: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-01271-2

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[Explorer1]

While we wait for scientific results, a very nice video about public outreach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLuf64TK6DA

[Marcin600]

For those interested in the ongoing research of the Ryugu samples, some useful (I think) link(s):

https://curation.isas.jaxa.jp/en/ - ASRG (Astromaterials Science Research Group) homepage - sample testing is underway here (I hope there will be some current news)

https://curation.isas.jaxa.jp/en/sample-curation/ryugu/ - detailed description of current and future sample testing process

https://curation.isas.jaxa.jp/en/sample-cur.../collaboration/ - international cooperation


Photo 1 and info from January 29, 2021: „...The picture shows the work that the samples in the clean chamber are being handled with a vacuum tweezer and stored into the designated container.” (https://curation.isas.jaxa.jp/en/topics/21-01-29.html)

Photo 2: Loop needle used to carry samples

Photo 3: A known picture of chamber A with samples, but in high resolution (https://s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/jaxa-jda/http_root/photo/P100013138/a355b28bcd771d5bb3a57e68c3a6b8c3.jpg)

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[Marcin600]

And a link to the JAXA Repository - https://jaxa.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_v...mp;lang=english
For example, there is now a complete catalog of Itokawa micro-samples (ver. 2020, 342 MB) - https://jaxa.repo.nii.ac.jp/index.php?actio...amp;block_id=21

Here is a short video of flying over the return capsule after it has landed - http://jda.jaxa.jp/result.php?lang=e&i...660b405af567b2a

[Marcin600]

Citations from two LPSC 52 abstracts:

S. Tachibana et al. HAYABUSA2 REENTRY CAPSULE RETRIEVAL AND SAMPLE CONTAINER OPENING OPERATIONS.
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/1289.pdf
[in Australia:]
."..The temperature monitor attached to the sample container indicated that the container was never heated up to 65°C, which is lower than the maximum daytime temperature at the Ryugu surface...
...The container was in vaccum, indicating the container seal held during reentry and therefore low terrestrial contamination. The gas extracted from the sample container was split into four gas tanks at room temperature, and the residual gas in the system was then trapped into two gas tanks cooled at liquid nitrogen temperature. A fraction of the gas was analyzed by a quadrupole mass spectrometer (WATMASS, Tokyo Electronics). The obtained mass spectrum was distinctly different from the terrestrial air, and the detailed analysis is still being performed for the gas stored in the tanks..."
[in Japan:]
"...Particles in the Sample Container: Initial description of the samples inside the sample container by the ISAS/JAXA curation found that the samples have the following characteristics:
(1) Particles were found in two separate chambers used for two landing operations at Ryugu, indicating that the samples at the different surface locations were obtained successfully.
(2) The particles were black in color, consistent with the color of Ryugu boulders.
(3) Millimeter- to centimeter-sized pebbles are present. Centimeter-sized grains, close to the maximum obtainable size, are found in the sample obtained during the second landing operation nearby the artificial crater.
(4) The total weight of the sample exceeds 5 g, which is far more than the mission requirement (0.1 g)..."

T. Yada et al. HANDLING AND DESCRIPTION OF C-TYPE ASTEROID RYUGU SAMPLES RETURNED BY HAYABUSA2.
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/2008.pdf
"...Particles smaller than 1 mm were also observed in chamber B as well...
...Future plan for sample distributions: The initial description of the Ryugu samples will last for 6 months after the return of the samples. The samples will be distributed to the initial analysis team of Hayabusa2 the phase2 curation teams that will make detailed analysis with a collaboration with ESCuC. One year later after the return, 10% of the samples will be delivered to NASA based on the Memorandum of Understanding between JAXA and NASA. Simultaneously, some fraction of samples will be distributed to overseas phase2 curation teams. JAXA will release the announcement of opportunity for the Hayabusa2 samples to the community with the sample catalog after 18 months from the return..."

[Paolo]

An open access paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics:
Size of particles ejected from an artificial impact crater on asteroid 162173 Ryugu

[Marcin600]

PDF with Hayabusa2 news from March 5, 2021 (only in Japanese so far) - https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/enjoy/materia...210305_ver5.pdf
Includes: sample analysis status, rear heat shield inspection, mission status...

Pictures: rear heat shield and 3 Ryugu samples from chamber C (containers diameter: 21 mm)
Credit: JAXA

Edit: now in English - https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/enjoy/mate...05_ver5_en2.pdf

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[Marcin600]

Planetary radio: a very interesting and informative conversation between Mat Kaplan and the Hayabusa2 Project Manager Yuichi Tsuda (about Hayabusa2 mission, sample testing, extended mission and the future MMX mission to Phobos) - https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/y...tsuda-hayabusa2

A few quotes from the interview:
- the artificial crater has a diameter of 18 m
- the curtain of debris reached a height of approx. 40 m
- the total of the samples weighs 5.4g
- chamber A contained samples from the 1st touchdown and C - from the second touchdown
- chamber B was opened between touchdown 1 and 2 - it turned out to contain very fine grains
- currently, a catalog of individual samples is being created (sizes from less than 1 mm to 1 cm)
- an analysis of the composition of this material will begin in early summer (including carbon and water content, organic compounds and hydrated minerals)
- more than 50% of the fuel remained on board the Hayabusa2

[Marcin600]

On JAXA Sagamihara Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5JPsqumx...1Dg?app=desktop :
„JAXA Sagamihara Campus Online Special Opening” (Day 2, March 27, 2021) - Visit with a camera in ESCuC - Extraterrestial Sample Curation Center -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E2XZG0ZjTg - from 4:08:45 to 4:23:40

For example, at 4:16:47 you can see the samples of Ryugu being picked up from chamber A with the "micro-catcher":
Credit: JAXA

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 0aa.mp4 ( 256.61K ) Number of downloads: 197

 

[Marcin600]

a slightly larger animated gif

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[Marcin600]

and one more

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[Marcin600]

Some overdue news:

1. „Material from the Hayabusa2 press conference on Apr. 27th, including initial results obtained from spectroscopic measurements (FTIR and MicrOmega) of the sample from Ryugu. These early results indicate that the sample seems to consist of primitive material from the Solar System, containing water or carbon related minerals, indicating the existence of water in Ryugu’s parent body":
https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/enjoy/mate..._ver8_en_v3.pdf
https://curation.isas.jaxa.jp/en/topics/21-05-07.html
https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/enjoy/material/

2. „Anomalously porous boulders on (162173) Ryugu as primordial materials from its parent body”:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-021-01371-7
https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/topics/20210602_Nature/
https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2021/05/20210525-1_e.html



"Figure 1: TIR images [a, b] and ONC images (c, d) of the discovered high porosity boulders (hot spot area is indicated in red). The images on the right are enlargements of those on the left, and in the ONC image (d), the boulders near the hot spot are outlined in white lines. These boulders may have a very high porosity (from ©Sakatani et al., 2021)."

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[Marcin600]

New pdf material from Hayabusa2 press briefing of 17 June 2021 (in English) - https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/enjoy/mate...17_ver7_en3.pdf
- Report from the curation team
- Report from the initial analysis team

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[Marcin600]

1. NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has completed the cleanroom for Hayabusa2 Ryugu samples:
https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20210730_CR/
https://curation.isas.jaxa.jp/en/topics/21-08-02.html

2. Images of the samples from Ryugu - a kind of summary: https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/topics/20201225_samples/

3. "Hayabusa2 Mission Update" (2021 Asteroid Day LIVE Digital from Luxembourg, with English transcription, May 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AphsbNBP0no

4. August 4, 2021 - Operation status report (2021/7/12 - 2021/7/31) - Google translation:
„We continue to operate the ion engine. Currently, we are operating while checking the performance of which combination of two of the four ion engines is best to operate, and fine-tuning the set values such as voltage. In recent operations, the QCM (quartz crystal microbalance), which has been monitoring the state of contamination and wear on the ion engine mounting surface since its launch, has reached the end of its life and issued a command to stop the QCM operation (QCM, thank you for a long time. !). Every day I watch over the spacecraft through trial and error during operation to achieve the extended mission.
(Kana Hattori)” - https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/news/status/

[Wez]

Hello all. I'm Wesley Lamont and I've started doing some work on Ryugu for some researchers here at Curtin University and thought I would share it with all of you and ask for some advice and contacts.

Thanks to the animated GIF from Roman with the High resolution images at 6km I have created a higher resolution map of Ryugu I originally aligned to your map Roman but them moved it to the map from JAXA. The upper region of the higher resolution area isn't accurate as that should be stretched across the Norther Pole which isn't correct in my map. The core details align very well to the Shape File from the Small Bodies Measurement Tool. I'll post up a heavily compressed version. If anyone wants the raw image let me know and I can send that to you.

I'm not sure if this is good enough to publish but I thought the best person to ask would be Phil Stooke who I see you are active in this group (I don't know how or if I can tag people in a post here). I also created a map with the regions in prominent Craters highlighted but I'll have to post that separately.

Hmm attaching the image seemed to fail. I'm obviously doing something wrong which I can't quite work out.