Itokawa Asteroid
The peanut-shaped asteroid that the Hayabusa SpaceCraft visited a few years ago.
Itokawa Asteroid
Recent discovery of water
On May 2, 2019, the data collected from the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft revealed a critical fact that may explain the origin of water on Earth. The scientists found traces of water in dust grains on an asteroid called Itokawa, a mission launched by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA).
The asteroid is thought to be formed in the asteroid belt about 4.6 billion years ago. It had been around 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide but was shattered into pieces not long after its creation; one of the pieces of the asteroid is now known as the Itokawa, where scientists recently discovered the traces of water. It is about 1,755 feet (535 meters) long and 1,000 feet (300) meters wide.
The Hayabusa mission took 1,500 grains of dust as samples and returned back to Earth in 2010 to complete its task. Nonetheless, the analysis of such particles has been tedious and mundane. However, they were able to discover five tiny particles that contained minuscule water particles, each around half the width of a human hair. It is believed that these particles come from the Moses Sea, a body of water near the middle of the asteroid Itokawa.
From the results of the analysis on the water packets, it can be determined that the dust grains contained rock-forming silicate minerals known as pyroxenes. This is the same mineral on Earth that is known to contain water within their crystal structure.
The outcome of the results was surprising; the scientists are astonished by how rich the asteroid is with water. Not only does it prove that asteroids contain water, but it also shows that water minerals can be found in dry asteroids, including the Itokawa asteroid. With more research into the water on asteroids, it may be clear of the origin of the water on Earth which still remains a mystery today.