Japanese scientists have announced that the particles found in the Hayabusa return capsule are mostly made up of rocky materials.
Reports today in the Japanese press say that the Hayabusa return capsule did capture minute particles of extraterrestrial material.
We won’t know if the Japanese probe Hayabusa actually brought asteroid materials back to Earth until spring 2011. Key quote from the project scientist:
Kawaguchi said his science team found “tens of particles” in Chamber A of the canister. The tiny particles are being removed one-by-one in an extraction process that is stretching longer than anticipated.
Note that they still have not opened Chamber B, which is thought to have had a better chance of capturing asteroid material because it was the chamber in contact with the asteroid Itokawa.
The Japanese effort to rent out their Kibo module on ISS for research has stalled, mainly because private businesses apparently consider the prices too high.
The publication of the results of the material found within the Hayabusa capsule has been delayed until December. The researchers have found that the particles in the capsule are smaller than expected, and they need more time to study them properly.
The Japanese are considering upgrades to their unmanned HTV freighter that carries cargo to ISS. The upgrades would allow HTV to return large cargo to Earth, as well as possibly become a manned vehicle.
The Japanese government has approved a new asteroid mission similar to Hayabusa. The new mission could launch as early as 2014 and bring samples back by 2020.
The Japanese space agency JAXA has put Hayabusa’s heat shield, outer capsule, and parachute on public display, to large crowds.
The Japanese space agency has announced that their solar sail spacecraft Ikaros has successfully increased its velocity using only the light from the Sun, the first time this has ever been done by an interplanetary spacecraft.
