Finding clues to the formation of the solar system
Domestically attempted asteroid exploration was rejected from the preliminary feasibility study.
The Japanese space probe ‘Hayabusa 2’ collects from the asteroid ‘Ryugu’ and analyzes the samples brought to Earth in December 2020. Research results are coming out one after another. Earlier this month, Japanese researchers announced that they had found at least 20 amino acids, including glycine and glutamic acid, in Ryugu samples. By proving the existence of amino acids in celestial bodies other than Earth, it provided a clue to the origin of life on Earth. On the 10th, the international scientific journal Science published the results of Ryugu surface analysis, which helps to understand the process of solar system formation.
○ Japan’s asteroid exploration results ‘one after another’
Citing the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology earlier this month, Japanese media reported that more than 20 amino acids were found in soil samples brought by Hayabusa II from Ryugu. Currently, eight research teams are conducting sample analysis, and the detailed analysis results are summarized and published before being published as a thesis. It is interpreted that the result of a long-running asteroid exploration project is to be presented to researchers around the world at an early stage and to be imprinted as a successful asteroid exploration project.
The Japan Aerospace Research and Development Organization (JAXA) published the results of a comprehensive analysis of the asteroid Ryugu sample in the international scientific journal ‘Science’ on the 10th (local time). As a result of analysis by an international joint research team led by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology, it was confirmed that the Ryugu sample was chemically similar to the ‘CI chondrite’ meteorite that fell on Ibuna, Tanzania in 1938. The CI chondrite meteorite, a rare meteorite of which fewer than 10 have been discovered so far, is believed to be the earliest forming material of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The research team said, “The Ryugu sample was analyzed to have been formed by contact with melted ice water less than 5 million years after the formation of the solar system. ” he said.
○ Domestic flight exploration of asteroid ‘Apophis’
While Japan is bearing fruit in its asteroid exploration, Korea is in danger of being stranded in Korea’s first asteroid exploration opportunity promoted by space scientists. This is because the asteroid ‘Apophis’ exploration project was not selected in the preliminary feasibility study target selection process conducted by the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters of the Ministry of Science and ICT at the beginning of last month.
The successful launch of the Korean launch vehicle ‘Nuri’ raises expectations for space exploration, but critics point out that it is not reflecting the will of space scientists in a policy way.
Apophis is an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building in New York, with a diameter of 370 meters. It is expected to reach 32,000 km from Earth in April 2029. The Apophis project is a project that launches a probe when Apophis approaches Earth and observes it moving at the same speed as an asteroid for 6 months. It contained a plan to invest 387.3 billion won from 2024 to 2030 to add a four-speed kick motor to the Nuri and launch a probe with a maximum weight of 534 kg. An official from the space science community said, “Asteroid exploration takes a lot of time to prepare and the exploration schedule is fixed, so it will not be easy to carry out realistically as it is eliminated from the example.”
Correspondent Kim Min-soo, Donga Science [email protected]