Woodleigh Crater in Western Australia is one of the largest on Earth. But now, researchers from Curtin University have discovered new evidence that the crater could be bigger than previously thought – thanks to the presence of one of the rarest minerals ever found.
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The tiny robots currently skipping across the surface of asteroid Ryugu have gained some company today, with mothership Hayabusa 2 successfully deploying their bigger sibling, the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT).
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Japan has scored a space race double first by becoming the first nation to land not one, but two rovers on an asteroid. JAXA has confirmed that both of the robotic MINERVA-II1 spacecraft successfully deployed from the unmanned Haybusa2 probe and have touched down on the asteroid Ryugu.
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Before heading in for a closer look itself, JAXA's Hayabusa 2 probe will drop a pair of small rovers onto the asteroid Ryugu this week, which will bounce across the surface and scope out the scene.
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The lengthy two-year journey of OSIRIS-REx toward the asteroid Bennu has entered its final leg, with the probe officially beginning the approach phase of its mission. This will see it slowly close in on the chunk of space rock before snatching a sample for scientists to study here on Earth.
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Asteroids are the leftovers from the formation of the solar system, and they can tell us a lot about those early years. Now scientists have studied a weird space rock and found that it’s the oldest known igneous meteorite, dating back to one of the very first volcanic eruptions in the solar system.
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Findings from three major world observatories confirm that a very rare binary asteroid came within a cosmic whisker of Earth on June 21, 2017 The near-Earth asteroid (actually two asteroids) passed within 3.7 million of our planet for the first time in 170 years before heading out into deep space.
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They might seem like boring rocks, but asteroids and meteorites have fascinating stories to tell about the history of the solar system. New research from the University of Florida has now traced back the origins of almost all asteroids in the inner belt to just five or six ancient minor planets.
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‘Oumuamua is the first interstellar visitor ever detected passing through our Solar System, and while it was originally classed as an asteroid after its discovery, astronomers have now updated the label. ‘Oumuamua, it turns out, is a comet after all, but it’s unlike any other known comet.
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After travelling for over three and a half years through the hostile environment of outer space, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) Hayabusa 2 spacecraft has successfully made orbit around the asteroid Ryugu.
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