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Old 17-11-2010, 05:16 AM
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SkyViking (Rolf)
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Confirmed: Hayabusa Nabbed Asteroid Particles!

Great news

Quote:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed that the tiny particles inside the Hayabusa spacecraft‘s sample return container are in fact from the asteroid Itokawa. Scientists examined the particles to determine if the probe successfully captured and brought back anything from the asteroid, and in a press release said “about 1,500 grains were identified as rocky particles, and most were determined to be of extraterrestrial origin, and definitely from Asteroid Itokawa.”
Article: http://www.universetoday.com/78895/c...oid-particles/
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Old 17-11-2010, 06:20 AM
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Hi Rolf;

Many thanks for the update.

I'm not particularly familiar with JAXA, but there doesn't seem to be any accompanying paper (in English) ..?.. Do they release scientific papers ?

This article basically re-iterates the same information they announced a few months ago, except this time we have an anonymous person's opinion that the particles are from the asteroid.

I was hoping for information about how they came to the extraterrestrial origin conclusion, the particles' composition, what formed them, discussion about the possible origin processes, what changes have they undergone since formation, do we find similar on Earth or are they different in some way, etc, etc ..

They seem to be very eager to make the claim that the probe was successful but I see no supporting scientific evidence about the particles' source.

Its a bit like trust me .. I'm the boss.

Thanks kindly for the update, much appreciated.


(Thus far however, JAXA leaves me a little frustrated - perhaps its still too early for the info I'm looking for, and its just me ..).

Wiki seems to have a tiny bit more information … it says:
Quote:
On October 7, 2010, it was announced that approximately 100 particles were collected by the sample canister, and stated that some may be cosmic materials. The particles are smaller than 0.001 millimeters. Starting in November, JAXA plans the detailed analyses of the samples by splitting each particle and examining their crystal structure at SPring-8. On 16 November 2010, JAXA confirmed that most of the particles, now estimated at 1500 particles, found in the sample canister came from Itokawa.
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Last edited by CraigS; 17-11-2010 at 06:32 AM.
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Old 17-11-2010, 07:33 AM
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MikeyB (Michael)
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There's a bit more detail (including names), here:

Japan probe collected particles from Itokawa asteroid (BBC News)
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Old 17-11-2010, 08:24 AM
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Ahh .. thanks Michael;

Slightly more info ..
Quote:
The particles contain the minerals olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase. Although common on Earth, these particles are said to be quite different in the Hayabusa samples, in their relative abundances and in their atomic composition.

The analysis fits with what Hayabusa saw with its remote-sensing instruments at Itokawa. These minerals are also common in certain meteorites, as is the mineral troilite (an iron sulphide) which has also been identified.

"This latter mineral is not found on the surface of the Earth," said Professor Ireland, who is affiliated to the Australian National University in Canberra.

"As such, everything points to a successful sample return from Itokawa."
The second last statement is a big one ! Wiki Troilite says:
Quote:
Troilite can be found as a native mineral on Earth but is more abundant in meteorites, in particular those originating from the Moon and Mars.
Also, the BBC article starts out with:
Quote:
Scientists at the Japanese space agency's (Jaxa) Sagamihara Campus in Kanagawa then spent the next five months subjecting minuscule grains found inside the canister to detailed examination.

"Almost all of them are extraterrestrial and come from Itokawa," Jaxa announced in its statement.
So, does this mean that some of the grains found inside the canister are not extraterrrestrial ???

The message is still mixed up and its hard to understand just exactly what these guys are trying to communicate ! (Other than attempting to confirm a legendary status of Hayabusa).

To me, these announcements further undermine confidence in the whole project. (Perhaps I'm just too skeptical or something !)

Quote:
Junichiro Kawaguchi, the project manager on the mission, told reporters: "I don't know how to describe what has been beyond our dreams, but I'm overwhelmed by emotion."
Maybe that's the whole problem right there ..!…
Cheers
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Old 17-11-2010, 09:15 AM
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For the record, here's the translated JAXA release:

The table (in Attachment #1) contains the evidence they're basing their conclusions on.

They appear to have excluded Earth based origins on the basis outlined in the bullet point in the table.

Fair enough.

It took a while … but we got there in the end.

I still look forward to a paper on the subject, though .. what does it all mean ? I think they're going to use their 8GeV accelerator to smash a few particle up and find out the structure/composition ..

Cheers
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