We’re never going to mine the asteroid belt
One factor rules out most space mining at the outset: gravity. It guarantees that most of the solar system’s best mineral resources are to be found under our feet on Earth.
Hayabusa2 returned with 5 grams of asteroid soil, far more than target
The capsule brought back by the Hayabusa2 space probe contained more than 5.4 grams of soil samples from a distant asteroid, exceeding the original target of 0.1 gram, Japan's space agency has said. The soil samples from the Ryugu asteroid were in three chambers of ...
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency also confirmed the presence of a "substantial amount" of soil samples from the Ryugu asteroid.
'Sand-like' asteroid dust found in box from Japan's Hayabusa2 probe
Hayabusa2 traveled about 300 million kilometers from Earth to collect the samples, which scientists hope could help shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the universe.
NASA says images suggest 'success' in asteroid sample collection
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on Tuesday unfurled its robotic arm to touch the surface of Bennu for six seconds.
Hayabusa2's next next mission: small, rapidly spinning asteroid
The craft is set to travel to an asteroid some 10 billion kilometers away, arriving in July 2031.
The probe is expected to reach its next target, the 1998KY26 asteroid traveling between Earth and Mars, in July 2031.
Small asteroid becomes closest ever seen passing Earth, NASA says
An asteroid the size of an SUV passed 1,830 miles (2,950 kilometers) above Earth, the closest asteroid ever observed passing by our planet, NASA said Tuesday. If it had been on a collision course with Earth, the asteroid — named 2020 QG — would likely ...
Japan team finds traces of one of largest craters in solar system
A Japanese research team has announced the discovery of traces of the largest impact craters in the solar system on a moon of Jupiter. The group from Kobe University and National Institute of Technology, Oshima College analyzed images of Ganymede's surface taken by the Voyager ...
Two teenage girls from India have discovered an Earth-bound asteroid by poring through images from a University of Hawaii telescope, an Indian space education institute said on Monday. The asteroid is presently near Mars and its orbit is expected to cross that of Earth in ...
Hayabusa2 probe to drop Ryugu asteroid capsule on Earth on Dec. 6
The capsule is set to fall onto a desert in southern Australia using a parachute after entering the atmosphere at a speed of 12 kilometers per second.
Team of Japanese and South Korean researchers to observe asteroid using Hokkaido telescope
A team of Japanese and South Korean researchers will start observing the Ryugu asteroid using a special telescope in Hokkaido from next fall, in hopes of gaining an understanding of how asteroids are formed, a team member said Monday. Japan's Hayabusa2 probe recently completed a ...
