[FPSPACE] FW: UCF: Japanese Asteroid Mission a Success; Next Up, NASA

[LARRY KLAES]

 > Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:05:28 -0400
> Subject: UCF: Japanese Asteroid Mission a Success; Next Up, NASA
> From: rick.fienberg at aas.org
> To: Rick.Fienberg at aas.org
> 
> THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL
> FLORIDA IN ORLANDO AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR INFORMATION. (FORWARDING
> DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.) Rick
> Fienberg, AAS Press Officer: rick.fienberg at aas.org, +1 202-328-2010
> x116.
> 
> August 25, 2011
> 
> Contact:
> Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala
> Senior Communications Coordinator
> +1 407-823-6120
> zenaida.kotala at ucf.edu
> 
> Text & Image:
> http://today.ucf.edu/japanese-asteroid-mission-a-success-next-up-nasa/
> 
> JAPANESE ASTEROID MISSION
> A SUCCESS; NEXT UP, NASA
> 
> A space mission to a nearby asteroid launched in 2005 has yielded some
> interesting clues about Earth’s early formation.
> 
> Japanese scientists on that mission report today in the journal
> Science that despite retrieving a very small sample from the nearby
> Itokawa asteroid, the knowledge gained is huge.
> 
> “This is a great achievement for the Japan Aerospace Exploration
> Agency,” said Humberto Campins, a professor at the University of
> Central Florida and international expert on asteroids and comets. “The
> analysis of the Itokawa asteroid sample illustrates the wealth of
> information that can be obtained even from very small samples and sets
> the stage nicely for NASA’s OSIRIS REx mission, which is to sample a
> more primitive asteroid. That asteroid should help us understand the
> role asteroids played in the origin of Earth’s oceans and life.”
> 
> What scientists found in the Itokawa sample is unequivocal evidence
> that this type of asteroid is the parent of ordinary chondrites -- the
> most common type of meteorites found on Earth. Space weather morphs
> asteroid fragments and when they enter Earth’s atmosphere they burn up
> as meteors, changing their chemical nature a bit. That’s why they are
> referred to as meteorites. The Japanese’s pristine sample has helped
> distinguish the original material on the rock and how it changed when
> it entered Earth’s atmosphere. That is helpful to understanding the
> origin and evolution of the planet and the solar system.
> 
> Although technical glitches caused the Japanese space mission to
> collect a smaller sample size than had been intended, Campins said the
> knowledge gained offers great insight and only makes him more eager to
> see NASA’s own asteroid mission take place.
> 
> The OSIRIS-REx mission, which targets an older and more primitive
> asteroid, is scheduled to launch in 2016. Campins is part of that
> scientific team and believes the sample collected may hold important
> clues to understanding the illusive question of how the Earth got its
> oceans.
> 
> He has reason to believe water on Earth may have originally come from
> a primitive asteroid. Campins made international headlines
> (http://www.space.com/9292-water-ice-common-asteroids-discovery-suggests.html
> ) in 2010 when he discovered evidence of water ice on two other
> primitive asteroids based on long-range observations. OSIRIS REx is an
> opportunity to potentially confirm those findings through a hands-on
> sample.
> 
> “It’s very exciting,” Campins said. “I just can’t wait to see what we
> find and what surprises Mother Nature has in store for us.”
> 
>                            # # #
> 
> The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research
> university that ranks as the second largest in the nation with more
> than 56,000 students. UCF’s first classes were offered in 1968. The
> university offers impressive academic and research environments that
> power the region’s economic development. UCF’s culture of opportunity
> is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of
> entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy.
> 
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