Japanese officials say they are pleased with the quality asteroid Material collected by a spacecraft and returned to Earth.

Last week, officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, described samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu in July 2019. Ryugu is located more than 300 million kilometers from Earth.

The unmanned Japanese Hayabusa 2 spacecraft removed the material after poking a hole in the asteroid.

The space agency said in July 2019 Task Aim to collect samples from beneath the surface of the Ryugu. During a previous operation in February 2019, Hayabusa2 collected materials from a different part of the asteroid.

JAXA officials said the second collection effort resulted in 1cm samples being cut. Dark matter looks similar to coal And they added that it was very difficult. It didn’t fall apart when picked up or poured into another bowl.

Earlier this month, space officials described the samples Hayabusa2 removed on its first mission as smaller chunks of sand. Collected from the roof of Ryugu.

Hayabusa2 launched in December 2014 and arrived near Ryugu in June 2018. The Japanese space mission aims to use samples to learn more about how our solar system formed.

Tomohiro Usui from Jax is an alien scientist. He told the Associated Press that to get the second set of samples in July, he used Hayabusa2 Collider To explode below the surface of the asteroid. The goal is to collect materials that are not affected by space radiation or other environmental conditions.

Usui indicated that differences in size indicate different stiffness than Foundation stone From the asteroid. „ One possibility is that the second landing site was a solid rock and the larger particles broke off and entered roomUsui said.

JAXA continues its examination of asteroid samples before conducting full studies next year. After studies have been conducted in Japan, some samples will be shared with NASA and other international space agencies for further research.

Asteroids orbiting the Sun are much smaller than the planets. They are among the oldest bodies in the solar system, and they may help scientists better understand how Earth evolved over time. Asteroid samples could give researchers a rare opportunity to study these mysterious, rocky objects.

Hayabusa 2 is now on another mission to a smaller asteroid, called 1998KY26. JAXA expects it will take 11 years for the plane to reach this asteroid. The new Hayabusa2 mission aims to study possible methods of major prevention Meteorites Who hit the ground.

The only other country to have successfully collected an asteroid sample is the United States. NASA Advertise Last month, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft completed the sample operation on the asteroid Bennu. NASA said it was pleased that the spacecraft collected more samples than expected.

I’m Brian Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

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Words in this story

asteroid – n. That is, one of the thousands of small planets orbiting the sun

Task – n. Flight of an aircraft or spacecraft to perform a specific mission

coal – n. A black solid made by burning wood with a small amount of air

Collider – n. An object (such as a meteor) collides with another object

Foundation stone – n. Hard rocks that lie below the surface of the earth

room – n. An enclosed space or area that is usually part of something larger and is often used to hold a specific object

meteor – n. A piece of rock or metal that fell to Earth from outer space: a meteorite that reaches the Earth’s surface without completely burning