The Science From Asteroid Sample Return Missions

To date, three samples from near-Earth asteroids have been delivered to Earth by Japan’s Hayabusa (2010) and Hayabusa2 (2020) missions, and the United States OSIRIS-REx mission (2023).

Free from terrestrial contamination, these pristine materials provide new opportunities to investigate planetary formation processes, the delivery of organics and water to the early Earth, and the nature of potentially hazardous asteroids.

As analysis of the asteroid samples proceeds in laboratories around the world, we visit each of the missions, review the initial scientific findings, and explore the value of sample return in understanding our origins and protecting our future.

Elizabeth J. Tasker, Harold C. Connolly Jr, Shogo Tachibana

Comments: This article has been accepted for publication in Contemporary Physics, published by Taylor & Francis
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Cite as: arXiv:2604.22182 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2604.22182v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.22182
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Journal reference: Contemporary Physics, 1-34 (2026)
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1080/00107514.2026.2646056
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Submission history
From: Elizabeth Tasker Dr
[v1] Fri, 24 Apr 2026 03:17:06 UTC (10,832 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.22182

Astrobiology, Astrogeology, Astrochemistry,