At the recently concluded Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), JAXA presented its NGSR mission. This mission aims to return early solar system samples from the 289P/Blanpain comet, which was first discovered in 1819.
Why Is JAXA Looking To Collect Samples From A Comet?
In the past, JAXA has performed the Hayabusa and Hayabusa 2 missions, which returned samples from asteroids. However, the space agency is looking at a different solar body for its coming NGSR mission, expected to be ready by 2034.
This new mission eyes samples from a comet, 289P/Blanpain, which was originally discovered in 1819, considered lost for two centuries and rediscovered in 2003. At its first discovery, the 289P/Blanpain was considered a near-Earth asteroid, but it was later discovered to be a comet after an outburst of activity in 2013.
Unlike asteroids, comets hold pristine samples of primordial ice and dust dating back to the formation of the solar system under their surface. By retrieving and returning these samples from 289P/Blanpain, JAXA might be able to understand the type of star that formed our solar system.
From the samples collected, the space agency will also be able to understand how planets were formed from microscopic dust grains. To do this, JAXA will equip the NGSR mission spacecraft with seismometers and bistatic radar instruments to study the internal structure of 289P/Blanpain.
Details On The JAXA NGSR Mission
After the JAXA NGSR mission launch in 2034, the mission will take seven years to reach 289P/Blanpain. It’ll then spend one and a half years performing proximity operations like collecting samples and studying the internal structure of the comet.
Once it completes its mission, the spacecraft will return to Earth, taking about five and a half years to return. The spacecraft that’ll convey the NGSR mission to its designated comet will be a Deep Space Orbital Transfer Vehicle (DSOTV).
For its proximity operations, the missions will rely on its optical navigation camera (ONC), laser altimeter (LIDAR), and thermal infrared camera (TIRI). Its Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) instrument will help it collect samples from the comet.
The samples collected will be analysed in situ using a multi-turn time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MULTUM-sp). This will help ensure that no highly volatile organic matter is lost during transportation back to Earth.