Japan’s ‘Falcon’ Returns To Earth

After seven years orbiting the earth, Japan’s ‘Falcon’ has returned to earth with some very interesting cargo.

The space capsule fell to earth in the Australian Outback over the weekend and may have onboard, some asteroid dust which would be key for continued research into our solar system.

The ‘Falcon’ was being brought to earth by the Hayabusa spacecraft but the craft burnt up during re-entry so researchers used a parachute to bring the capsule down to earth.

The mission was to try to retrieve some dust from the Itokawa asteroid which appears to have been completed successfully after seven years and more than $229 dollars were spent.

According to Australian National University professor Trevor Ireland, having the ability to analyze asteroid dust or rocks is an amazing opportunity to gain a better understanding our solar system.

“Even a few specks of dust will be a fantastic opportunity to look back 4.5 billion years,” he says. “The fact that any sample hasn’t been directly exposed to the atmosphere is what makes this special.”

• Pin It
• Share
• Tweet