Asteroid Ryugu from Hayabusa2
Explanation:
This big space diamond has an
estimated value of over 80 billion dollars.
It's only diamond in shape, though --
asteroid 162173 Ryugu
is thought to be composed of mostly
nickel and
iron.
Asteroids like
Ryugu are interesting for several reasons, perhaps foremost because they are
near the Earth and might, one day in the far future, pose an
impact threat.
In the nearer term,
Ryugu is interesting because it may be possible to send future spacecraft there
to
mine
it, thus providing humanity with a
new source
of valuable metals.
Scientifically,
Ryugu is interesting because it carries information about how our Solar System
formed billions of years ago, and why its orbit takes it
so close to Earth.
Japan's
robotic
spacecraft Hayabusa2
just
arrived
at this one-kilometer wide asteroid in late June.
The
featured image shows surface structures unknown before spacecraft Hayabusa2's
arrival, including rock fields and craters.
Within the next three months,
Hayabusa2
is scheduled to unleash several probes, some that will land on Ryugu and hop
around,
while Hayabusa2 itself will mine just a little bit of the
asteroid for
return to Earth.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
