NASA scientists have received a first-of-its-kind sample from an asteroid in a US lab after it was retrieved by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The asteroid sample was taken from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft and had been in space since December 2020 before landing in a desert in the United States on Sunday.
The sample is of immense scientific interest, as it all comes from an asteroid that scientists know was formed in the early days of the solar system, offering them a peek into the origins of our own planet.
JAXA director-general Makoto Yoshikawa said the sample was the “greatest contribution from Japan to the world” and promised to share “as much of the sample as possible” with the world.
The sample will now be analyzed by NASA and JAXA experts and compared with existing samples taken from asteroids, comets, and meteorites to learn more about the solar system’s history. The data gathered from it will also help scientists investigate the possibility of future asteroid mining and the possible commercial use of resources that may be retrieved from these objects.
It is hoped that this sample will expand our knowledge about the solar system and bring us one step closer to understanding our cosmic home.
