Makoto YOSHIKAWA

Abstract Aqueous alteration was one of the earliest geological processes in the solar system and significantly shaped the mineralogical diversity observed in primitive minor bodies. Carbonate minerals are reliable tracers of the physicochemical conditions during alteration processes on early planetesimals. We present a comprehensive characterization of carbonates in the returned samples of asteroids Ryugu and Bennu, performed using the MicrOmega near-infrared hyperspectral microscope. We identify two major carbonate species, dolomite (CaMg(CO ₃ ) ₂ ) and breunnerite ((Mg,Fe)CO ₃ ), with similar relative abundances and mean elemental compositions on both asteroids, indicating analogous aqueous alteration pathways on their parent bodies. A general spatial separation of dolomite and breunnerite is observed, indicating that at size scales of 10–100 μ m, alteration conditions favored the precipitation of one species over the other. We interpret this as evidence for a spatially heterogeneous local water–rock ratio, suggesting that a high local water–rock ratio suppresses the formation of dolomite, instead favoring precipitation of breunnerites. Based on relative carbonate abundances, we conclude that chambers A (sampling the surface) and C (predominantly sampling the subsurface) of the Ryugu sample contain different mixtures of lithologies with different alteration degrees.

Abstract The Hayabusa2 extended mission, nicknamed Hayabusa2# ( # is pronounced SHARP, which stands for the Small Hazardous Asteroid Reconnaissance Probe), is JAXA’s small body explorer to conduct science and engineering investigations in space. After the successful return to the Earth with the samples from the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu on 2020 December 6, Hayabusa2 diverted away from Earth to start its decade-long extended mission. The major scope includes an engineering demonstration of long-term maintenance strategies for spacecraft and operation systems and scientific investigations during various mission phases. Major scientific investigations include spacecraft-based telescopic observations of exoplanets and zodiacal dust observations during the cruise phase, flyby observations of the near-Earth asteroid (98943) Torifune in 2026 July, and rendezvous observations of near-Earth asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031. This study overviews Hayabusa2#’s flyby and the physical properties of Torifune. Although the flyby operation planning is still ongoing, the mission will attempt to fly by the target at a distance (from the asteroid’s center) of 1–10 km. The flyby speed is planned to be 5.25 km s ⁻¹ , while the encounter location is 0.81 au from the Sun. The mission plans to fix the spacecraft’s orientation during the flyby, only allowing for a very limited pointing change to attain higher-resolution imaging. The mission will attempt to obtain science and engineering returns during the flyby. The planned investigations will offer stronger insights into material transport mechanisms in the inner solar system and a demonstration of planetary defense technologies.