After the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 sent material from the asteroid Ryugu to Earth, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Research Agency) decided to publish photos of these samples. The stones shown in the photo were placed in the “A” section of the spacecraft’s capsule, which means they were collected during the first landing on the asteroid in February 2019. And now JAXA has also released photos of the contents of the “C” section of the capsule. This branch was first opened at the agency on December 21st.

JAXA’s Twitter post says that both “C” and “B” divisions have been opened in the agency. The second of them is empty because it was not used to collect stones and sand, while the “C” was used to collect specimens in July 2019, during the second landing of Hayabusa2 in Ryugu. Prior to landing, the JAXA exploded an explosive on the asteroid surface to create a crater. This made it possible to remove specimens from the depths of the asteroid. Scientists hope that these materials can provide interesting information about the formation of the solar system and its early period, since these samples, unlike materials taken from the asteroid surface, were not affected by harsh environmental conditions.

JAXA said that of the specimens placed in section “C”, the largest particle is about one centimeter in size. If we look at these photos, we will see that the agency has marked one of the particles as “物,”, or “artificial object”. It is not yet confirmed where it came from. , Which was separated from the mechanism for collecting sand and stone samples when an explosive was detonated on the surface of the Ryugu.