System design of the Hayabusa 2—Asteroid sample return mission to 1999 JU3
TL;DR: The second asteroid sample return mission, designated as Hayabusa 2, was designed as a round-trip mission to the asteroid 1999 JU3 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JEA) as discussed by the authors.
About: This article is published in Acta Astronautica.The article was published on 2013-10-01. It has received 374 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Sample return mission & Sample collection.
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Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency1, Nagoya University2, Auburn University3, University of Aizu4, Kobe University5, University of Tokyo6, Graduate University for Advanced Studies7, Hiroshima University8, Tohoku University9, Chiba Institute of Technology10, Kindai University11, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology12, Kōchi University13, Rikkyo University14, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology15, Seoul National University16, Planetary Science Institute17, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory18, Centre national de la recherche scientifique19, University of Colorado Boulder20, Meiji University21, German Aerospace Center22, Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales23
TL;DR: The Hayabusa2 spacecraft measured the mass, size, shape, density, and spin rate of asteroid Ryugu, showing that it is a porous rubble pile, and observations of Ryugu's shape, mass, and geomorphology suggest that Ryugu was reshaped by centrifugally induced deformation during a period of rapid rotation.
Abstract: The Hayabusa2 spacecraft arrived at the near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid 162173 Ryugu in 2018. We present Hayabusa2 observations of Ryugu’s shape, mass, and geomorphology. Ryugu has an oblate “spinning top” shape, with a prominent circular equatorial ridge. Its bulk density, 1.19 ± 0.02 grams per cubic centimeter, indicates a high-porosity (>50%) interior. Large surface boulders suggest a rubble-pile structure. Surface slope analysis shows Ryugu’s shape may have been produced from having once spun at twice the current rate. Coupled with the observed global material homogeneity, this suggests that Ryugu was reshaped by centrifugally induced deformation during a period of rapid rotation. From these remote-sensing investigations, we identified a suitable sample collection site on the equatorial ridge.
402 citations
University of Aizu1, Brown University2, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency3, Graduate University for Advanced Studies4, Kwansei Gakuin University5, Tohoku University6, Chiba Institute of Technology7, University of Paris-Sud8, Planetary Science Institute9, INAF10, Tokyo City University11, Japan Atomic Energy Agency12, National Institute for Environmental Studies13, Toho University14, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology15, Kōchi University16, University of Tokyo17, Nagoya University18, Rikkyo University19, Meiji University20, Kobe University21, National Institute of Polar Research22, Mitsubishi Electric23
TL;DR: The Hayabusa2 team's study of the near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid 162173 Ryugu, at which the spacecraft arrived in June 2018, describes Ryugu's geological features and surface colors and combined results from all three papers to constrain the asteroid's formation process.
Abstract: The near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu, the target of the Hayabusa2 sample-return mission, is thought to be a primitive carbonaceous object. We report reflectance spectra of Ryugu's surface acquired with the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS3) on Hayabusa2, to provide direct measurements of the surface composition and geological context for the returned samples. A weak, narrow absorption feature centered at 2.72 micrometers was detected across the entire observed surface, indicating that hydroxyl (OH)-bearing minerals are ubiquitous there. The intensity of the OH feature and low albedo are similar to thermally and/or shock-metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. There are few variations in the OH-band position, which is consistent with Ryugu being a compositionally homogeneous rubble-pile object generated from impact fragments of an undifferentiated aqueously altered parent body.
244 citations
TL;DR: The Hayabusa2 mission as mentioned in this paper was the first mission to explore a C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu (1999 JU3) to observe and explore the 900 m-sized object, and return samples collected from the surface layer.
Abstract: The Hayabusa2 mission journeys to C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu (1999 JU3) to observe and explore the 900 m-sized object, as well as return samples collected from the surface layer. The Haybusa2 spacecraft developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was successfully launched on December 3, 2014 by an H-IIA launch vehicle and performed an Earth swing-by on December 3, 2015 to set it on a course toward its target Ryugu. Hayabusa2 aims at increasing our knowledge of the early history and transfer processes of the solar system through deciphering memories recorded on Ryugu, especially about the origin of water and organic materials transferred to the Earth’s region. Hayabusa2 carries four remote-sensing instruments, a telescopic optical camera with seven colors (ONC-T), a laser altimeter (LIDAR), a near-infrared spectrometer covering the 3-μm absorption band (NIRS3), and a thermal infrared imager (TIR). It also has three small rovers of MINERVA-II and a small lander MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout) developed by German Aerospace Center (DLR) in cooperation with French space agency CNES. MASCOT has a wide angle imager (MasCam), a 6-band thermal radiator (MARA), a 3-axis magnetometer (MasMag), and a hyperspectral infrared microscope (MicrOmega). Further, Hayabusa2 has a sampling device (SMP), and impact experiment devices which consist of a small carry-on impactor (SCI) and a deployable camera (DCAM3). The interdisciplinary research using the data from these onboard and lander’s instruments and the analyses of returned samples are the key to success of the mission.
210 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a mobile asteroid surface SCOuT (MASCOT) was developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in collaboration with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES).
Abstract: On December 3rd, 2014, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) launched successfully the Hayabusa2 (HY2) spacecraft to its journey to Near Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu. Aboard this spacecraft is a compact landing package, MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid surface SCOuT), which was developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in collaboration with the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Similar to the famous predecessor mission Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, will also study an asteroid and return samples to Earth. This time, however, the target is a C-type asteroid which is considered to be more primitive than (25143) Itokawa and provide insight into an even earlier stage of our Solar System. Upon arrival at asteroid Ryugu in 2018, MASCOT will be released from the HY2 spacecraft and gently descend by free fall from an altitude of about 100 m to the surface of the asteroid. After a few bounces, the lander will come to rest at the surface and perform its scientific investigations of the surface structure and mineralogical composition, the thermal behaviour and the magnetic properties by operating its four scientific instruments. Those include an IR imaging spectrometer (MicrOmega, IAS Paris), a camera (MASCAM, DLR Berlin), a radiometer (MARA, DLR Berlin) and a magnetometer (MASMAG, TU Braunschweig). In order to allow optimized payload operations the thermal design of MASCOT is required to cope with the contrasting requirements of the 4-year cruise in cold environment versus the hot conditions on the surface of the asteroid. Operations up to 2 asteroid days (∼16 hours) based on a primary battery are currently envisaged. A mobility mechanism allows locomotion on the surface. The mechanism is supported by an attitude and motion sensing system and an intelligent autonomy manager, which is implemented in the onboard software that enables MASCOT to operate fully independently when ground intervention is not available.
133 citations
TL;DR: This Outlook reviews recent meteoritic analyses, focusing on variations in abundance, structural distributions, and enantiomeric distributions of amino acids and discussing possible explanations for these observations and the potential for future work.
Abstract: The analysis of amino acids in meteorites dates back over 50 years; however, it is only in recent years that research has expanded beyond investigations of a narrow set of meteorite groups (exemplified by the Murchison meteorite) into meteorites of other types and classes. These new studies have shown a wide diversity in the abundance and distribution of amino acids across carbonaceous chondrite groups, highlighting the role of parent body processes and composition in the creation, preservation, or alteration of amino acids. Although most chiral amino acids are racemic in meteorites, the enantiomeric distribution of some amino acids, particularly of the nonprotein amino acid isovaline, has also been shown to vary both within certain meteorites and across carbonaceous meteorite groups. Large l-enantiomeric excesses of some extraterrestrial protein amino acids (up to ∼60%) have also been observed in rare cases and point to nonbiological enantiomeric enrichment processes prior to the emergence of life. In this Outlook, we review these recent meteoritic analyses, focusing on variations in abundance, structural distributions, and enantiomeric distributions of amino acids and discussing possible explanations for these observations and the potential for future work.
115 citations
References
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Max Planck Society1, Charles University in Prague2, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency3, University of Western Ontario4, National Central University5, Japan Spaceguard Association6, University of Tokyo7, Tokyo Metropolitan Government8, Toho University9, Jet Propulsion Laboratory10, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute11, University of Arizona12
TL;DR: In this article, the shape and spin-vector information of the near Earth asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3) has been derived from a combined data set of visual lightcurves and mid-infrared photometry and spectroscopy (thermal emission).
Abstract: Context. Near-Earth asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3) is a potential flyby and rendezvous target for interplanetary missions because of its easy-to-reach orbit. The physical and thermal properties of the asteroid are relevant for establishing the scientific mission goals and also important in the context of near-Earth object studies in general.Aims. Our goal was to derive key physical parameters such as shape, spin-vector, size, geometric albedo, and surface properties of 162173 (1999 JU3).Methods. With three sets of published thermal observations (ground-based N -band, Akari IRC, Spitzer IRS), we applied a thermophysical model to derive the radiometric properties of the asteroid. The calculations were performed for the full range of possible shape and spin-vector solutions derived from the available sample of visual lightcurve observations.Results. The near-Earth asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3) has an effective diameter of 0.87 ± 0.03 km and a geometric albedo of 0.070 ± 0.006. The χ 2 -test reveals a strong preference for a retrograde sense of rotation with a spin-axis orientation of λ ecl = 73°, β ecl = −62° and P sid = 7.63 ± 0.01 h. The most likely thermal inertia ranges between 200 and 600 J m-2 s-0.5 K-1 , about a factor of 2 lower than the value for 25143 Itokawa. This indicates that the surface lies somewhere between a thick-dust regolith and a rock/boulder/cm-sized, gravel-dominated surface like that of 25143 Itokawa. Our analysis represents the first time that shape and spin-vector information has been derived from a combined data set of visual lightcurves (reflected light) and mid-infrared photometry and spectroscopy (thermal emission).
93 citations