“The notion of transwarp beaming is like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet, whilst wearing a blindfold, riding a horse” – Montgomery Scott (Star Trek)

JAXA’s post of a picture taken by MINERVA – 11A

This is the quote that comes to mind when thinking about the feasibility of this event.  In June 2018, a Japanese space probe called the Hayabusa2 finally intercepted the asteroid Ryugu.

Ryugu is a near-Earth object (NEO) that can come as close as 95,000 kilometers from the Earth.  NEOs are objects that are pushed by the gravitational effects of other bodies until they are very close to the Earth.  For reference about the proximity of Ryugu, the Moon is approximately 384,000 kilometers away from the Earth.  So if Ryugu is so close to Earth, it must be pretty straightforward getting there to study its composition, right?  Not quite, and the process of getting technology there is still an amazing feat of humankind.

Here is a bit of rough math to paint the picture of this scenario.  Ryugu orbits our Sun at an average distance of approximately 1.2 Astronomical Units (AU).  This is about 1.795e+11 meters.  For simplicity, if we assume Ryugu’s orbit is roughly circular, the circumference of its orbit is near 1.13e+12 meters.  Since Ryugu orbits the Sun once every 16 months, it travels at an average speed of about 27,000 meters per second!  To keep things in perspective, a rocket ship has to be travelling at 11,200 meters per second (7 miles per second) in order to break the Earth’s atmosphere.

MINERVA – 11 Rovers

The idea that we could launch a probe a distance of almost 100,000 kilometers, and have it intersect with an object travelling over twice the speed of a rocket is incredible.

Japan is the one to thank in this magnificent feat.  The Hayabusa2 is Japan’s second asteroid space probe.  The first probe was the Hayabusa, which successfully delivered samples of the asteroid Itokawa back to Earth in 2010.  The Hayabusa2 was launched in December of 2014, and did not meet with Ryugu until June of 2018.  Once in orbit of the asteroid, on September 21st, 2018, the space probe launched two rovers to land on the surface of the asteroid to record data, collect samples, and take pictures!

The two rovers sent to the surface are the MINERVA – 11A and the MINERVA – 11B.  These rovers are small, weighing only 2.4 pounds each.  According to officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), “Gravity on the surface of Ryugu is very weak, so a rover propelled by normal wheels or crawlers would float upwards as soon as it started to move”.  For this reason, Japan designed their rovers to hop.  Each time one of the rovers hops, it can leave the ground for up to 15 minutes, and can cover a distance of about 15 meters.

While only being on the surface for a few days, the MINERVA rovers have sent back numerous pictures, giving everyone back on Earth a fascinating view of the surface of Ryugu.  Looking towards the future, JAXA hopes to have these rovers collect samples of the asteroid, and return to Earth in late 2020.

Concept Art of Gliese 436 b and its parent star, Gliese 436 – NASA

Typically, when we think of ice, we think of a frozen cube, perhaps in a glass of lemonade.  Many wouldn’t appreciate having ice pressed against their neck because the ice is cold.  But what if ice was almost 1000 degrees Fahrenheit?  Strange to think about, right?  Amazingly enough, the exoplanet Gliese 436 b has exactly that.

Gliese 436 b was discovered in 2004 by scientists R. Paul Butler and Geoffrey Marcy.  They used a method called the Radial Velocity method, which locates an extraterrestrial body by observing how its gravitational pull makes the parent star appear to shift and bend.

Gliese 436 b is one of the closest known exoplanets at a distance of about 30 light years away from the Earth.  This exoplanet is about the size of Neptune, and is a mere 2.5 million miles away from its respective star, Gliese 436.  For reference, Mercury is a staggering 35 million miles from the sun.  Much of the composition of Gliese 436 b is unknown, but scientists have discovered an Earth-like core surrounded by large amounts of water with an atmosphere composed of mostly hydrogen.

Essentially, Gliese 436 b is a massive planet positioned right next to a star.  But what about that burning ice?

Typically, one might believe that since the exoplanet is so close to a star, the atmosphere would be dissolved and any water would evaporate into space.  In smaller planets like Mercury, this is true.  However, Gliese 436 b is the size of Neptune, so its gravitational field is so large that it not only maintains an atmosphere, but it compresses the water on its surface into a solid state.  This results in the water remaining in an ice-like state, while also reaching extreme temperatures from the proximity to Gliese 436, the parent star.

Basic composition of Gliese 436 b

However, the ice on the surface of Gliese 436 b is not normal ice.  Unlike the ice on Earth, which is put into a solid state due to temperature, the ice on Gliese 436 b is in a solid state simply due to pressure.  After all, the surface of the planet is close to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.  According to Frederic Pont of Geneva University, “Under very high pressure, water turns into other solid states denser than both ice and liquid water, just as carbon transforms into diamond under extreme pressures.”  As wild as it might seem, this suggests that if water is subjected to enough pressure, it can take on a completely new form that might not exist on Earth.

But wait there’s more!  The gravitational pull of the exoplanet’s parent star is strong enough that it is slowly pulling off layers of hydrogen from the dense atmosphere of the planet.  While it is believed that the atmosphere is in no danger of being completely stripped away, the planet leaves behind a large cloud of hydrogen.  When viewed through an ultraviolet lens, the immense cloud of hydrogen can be seen swirling around the planet.

While this is just one fantastical scenario in the infinite wonders of space, it’s a great start to promote the idea that any concept, no matter how wild, is always possible.

Hey everyone!

I changed my passion blog idea again.  I felt too much stress tying the complex nature of learning the guitar to my CAS grade.  Instead, I chose something I felt more casually comfortable with – SPACE!

I hope to populate my blog with interesting endeavors into the wonderful world of space, heavenly bodies, theories, and beyond!