JAXA
Asteroid Ryugu Contains Niacin (aka Vitamin B3)
In December 2020, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft delivered a pristine sample of otherworldly dust and rock from asteroid Ryugu to Earth.…
JAXA’s Ambitious Mission to Phobos Will Even Have European-Built Rover
Japan and Germany have a history of collaboration in scientific and technological endeavours. The countries have a Joint Committee on…
Were Phobos and Deimos Once a Single Martian Moon That Split up? Not Likely, says New Study
A new study has cast doubt on the theory that Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos were once a single moon…
Samples of Asteroid Ryugu Contain More Than 20 Amino Acids
The samples obtained by Hayabusa2 have revealed that the Near Earth Asteroid Ryugu contains 20 strains of amino acids -…
Japan’s Upcoming Mission Will Use a Vacuum to Get its Sample From Phobos
JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, is carving out a niche for itself in sample-return missions. Their Hayabusa mission was…
ESA Gives Green Light on its Comet Interceptor Mission
Comets, with their long, beautiful, bright tails of ice, are some of the most spectacular sightings in the night sky.…
Asteroid Ryugu Might Actually Be a Dead Comet
In 2014, the Japanese Space Agency JAXA launched the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft to visit asteroid Ryugu. It arrived at the…
BepiColombo Meets Mercury for the First Time on October 1
BepiColombo made a quick visit to Venus in August and is on to its next rendezvous. On October 1st it'll…
Japan’s Mission to Phobos Will Also Bring a Sample Home by 2029
Japan's space agency (JAXA) is gearing up for its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, with plans to have a sample…
The First Images and Videos from the Double Venus Flyby
Two spacecraft made historic flybys of Venus last week, and both sent back sci-fi-type views of the mysterious, cloud-shrouded planet.…