In the early morning of April 5th, Japan's spacecraft "Hayabusa2" detonated plastic explosives that were carefully placed on the surface of an asteroid. The goal was not to annihilate the asteroid but rather to help the scientists to collect new data to further the study.
The researchers watched it happen from the mission control center located in Sagamihara, Japan. As the Hayabusa2 carefully carried out the project they called the Small Carry-on Impactor, the researchers were quietly observing from the station, looking very happy about how it was slowly unfolding.
The device that was released contained a copper disk that was packed with HMX high-explosive made of plastic. The mothership reached the safety zone away from the line of fire when the impactor detonated. It fired the disk at the side of the asteroid. The camera aboard the Hayabusa2 was able to catch the moment of impact. It sent out a stream of ejecta into space.
"The release of the plastic explosives went smoothly," said Harold C. Connolly, Jr. This geologist/research from Rowan University was one of the collaborators in the Hayabusa2 project.
The asteroid where the plastic explosives were released was known to be the Ryugu. It is a barren piece of rock that measures less than a mile across. It is known to be floating the orbits of the Earth and Mars. Researchers believe that Ryugu may be similar to that of the space rocks that eventually would merge with the other rocks in space to form a new planet much like that of the Earth.
"These asteroids can be considered as the building blocks of planets, which practically what made up the planet Earth," Connolly revealed. Ryugu is an asteroid rich in carbon and other minerals. What is even more interesting is that its surface contains water and other prebiotic compounds which could have been the reason how life started and thrived.
"Ryugu may be considered as a time capsule," says Connolly.
This is not the first time that the Hayabusa2 did an attack. When the spacecraft physically made a landing down, it fired a small pellet in space. The dust that was made out of the opening shot was collected for observation. It aims to provide researchers with information as to the makeup of the asteroid.
The Hayabusa2 is scheduled to leave the asteroid before this year comes to a close. It will bring with it the samples that it has collected. From there, scientists will be able to make recommendations as to what could be done next. And who knows, the data collected may reveal what could happen to the planet earth in the future.
