A Capsule Containing Bits Of An Asteroid Is Plummeting To Earth
"As you read this, indispensable clues to the origins of the known universe are
plummeting from unimaginable heights straight for the Australian Outback. There, somewhere in the desert wilderness of Woomera, a capsule ferrying sample material from an asteroid — the primary goal of a six-year-long mission spanning billions of miles — is set to make its triumphant arrival on Earth."
"The capsule is expected to herald its re-entry to Earth's atmosphere with a brilliant fireball around 2 to 3 a.m. local time (12-1 p.m. ET). The event will be streamed here by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, which is spearheading the mission."
"Inside the capsule is just a little bit of dust and dirt with potentially grand ramifications. It comes from Ryugu, a jet black asteroid roughly one mile wide, which orbits the sun between Earth and Mars, roughly 180 million miles from our planet."
"Researchers expect the sample to contain organic matter similar to the early space rocks that combined to make planets, which, with careful study, may offer a glimpse of the mysterious processes that turned the universe into what it is today. In other words, JAXA explains, scientists hope that by examining the sample, they may 'approach the secrets of the birth of the solar system and the birth of life.'"