To date, three samples from near-Earth asteroids have been delivered to Earth by Japan’s Hayabusa (2010) and Hayabusa2 (2020) missions, and the United States OSIRIS-REx mission (2023).
Itokawa
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Tianwen-2 Target Asteroid (469219) Kamo’oalewa Probably Develops An Itokawa-compositional But Ultra-highly Space-weathered Surface
China’s Tianwen-2 mission plans to return samples from a small, rapidly spinning Earth quasi-satellite (469219) Kamo’oalewa. Previous studies linked Kamo’oalewa to lunar composition and origin.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report
Potential Metabolic Viability On Asteroid Chemistry
While it has been long supposed that asteroids played a role in the delivery of important prebiotic compounds to early Earth, the exact nature of the interactions between asteroidal material […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Asteroid Itokawa Once Supported a Hydrothermal System
Ordinary chondrites (OCs) are the most abundant type of meteorites that fall to Earth. Compared to the carbonaceous chondrites, which commonly contain abundant hydrous minerals, OCs consist mainly of anhydrous […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Sodium Chloride Crystals Discovered In S-type Asteroid Itokawa Samples
Sodium chloride, better known as table salt, isn’t exactly the type of mineral that captures the imagination of scientists. However, a smattering of tiny salt crystals discovered in a sample […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Water Found in Samples from Asteroid Itowkawa
Two cosmochemists at Arizona State University have made the first-ever measurements of water contained in samples from the surface of an asteroid. The samples came from asteroid Itokawa and were […]