2023-11-06 14:02:55
File – This illustration depicts the asteroid Phaethon being heated by the Sun. The surface of the asteroid becomes so hot that the sodium inside Phaethon’s rock probably vaporizes and escapes into space, causing it to glow like a com – NASA/JPL -CALTECH/IPAC – Archive
MADRID, 6 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Japanese space agency (JAXA) has postponed the launch of its DESTINY+ mission to 2025, destined for the asteroid Phaeton, Origin of the Geminid meteor shower.
DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for Interplanetary Voyage, Phaethon Flyby and Dust Science) was due to launch next year, but JAXA has decided to delay it until 2025 due to problems with the development of the Epsilon S rocket, Kyodo News reported.
This rocket is the planned successor to the solid-fuel Epsilon rocket. A rocket engine related to the new launch vehicle exploded during testing in Julywhich forced the delay.
Phaethon is a curious near-Earth object that exhibits characteristics similar to both asteroids and comets. This makes it an unusual source of meteor showers and also a target of great scientific interest. The 5 kilometer-wide chunk of jagged rock came relatively close to Earth in 2017. It is the source of the Geminids, which fall into Earth’s atmosphere every December, informa Space.com.
The DESTINY+ spacecraft will be launched from the Uchinoura Space Center (USC). The 1,000-pound spacecraft will enter an initial elliptical Earth orbit. It will have four ion engines to power its journey through space once it separates from the launch vehicle, using a lunar spin to accelerate it into deep space. It will also use lightweight thin-film solar panels.
DESTINY+ will fly over Phaethon, using telescopic and multi-band cameras to study the asteroid’s surface. The flyby, at a distance of 500 kilometers and a relative speed of around 119,000 kph, expected for 2029, but JAXA has not provided a new date for the close approach.
The spacecraft will also perform in situ analysis of interplanetary and interstellar dust using the Dust Analyzer, developed under the leadership of the University of Stuttgart and supported by the German space agency DLR, says JAXA. The goal is to evaluate whether extraterrestrial dust particles and associated organic compounds that arrived on Earth played a role in the creation of life on the planet.
JAXA says the mission will also demonstrate technologies such as its solar panels and electric ion propulsion that will enable future low-cost, high-frequency deep space exploration.
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