Japanese Asteroid Sample-return Spacecraft HAYABUSA Arrives [at] Itokawa

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency via phys.org [press release] ^ | September 14, 2005 | unknown

[Mike Fieschko]

Japanese asteroid sample-return spacecraft Hayabusa arrived Itokawa on 10:00 am, 12 Sep (JST: Japanese Standard Time). Now Hayabusa hovers around 20 kilometers away from asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa will bring back samples from an asteroid and investigate the mysteries of the birth of the solar system.

This picture was taken at 8:35 am, 12 Sep (JST) just before the settlement by the visible imager AMICA. Field of view is two degrees.

The photo shows contrast of rocky and hilly region and smooth area, which may suggest the origin of this asteroid. This feature may be a key to consider Itokawa’s origin and evolution. The scientific observation will be conducted for about two months including sampling and topographic measurement.

Color composite image will be available soon.

HAYABUSA’s mission: to bring back samples from an asteroid and investigate the mysteries of the birth of the solar system.

HAYABUSA (MUSES-C) has been developed to investigate asteroids. Asteroids are celestial bodies that are smaller than planets but are part of the solar system. HAYABUSA was launched on May 9th, 2003, and has been flying steadily towards an asteroid named "Itokawa," after the late Dr. Hideo Itokawa, the father of Japan’s space development program. HAYABUSA is traveling through space using an ion engine. It will orbit the asteroid, land on it, and bring back a sample from its surface.

Until now, the only extra-terrestrial celestial body from which we have gathered samples is the Moon. But since the matter that comprises large bodies such as the planets and the Moon has changed over time due to thermal processes, these bodies cannot provide us with a pristine record of the solar system. Asteroids, on the other hand, are believed to be small enough to have preserved the state of the early solar system and are sometimes referred to as celestial fossils. A soil sample from an asteroid can give us clues about the raw materials that made up planets and asteroids in their formative years, and about the state of the inside of a solar nebula around the time of the birth of the planets. However small the sample amount may be, its scientific significance is tremendous.

HAYABUSA’s mission will play an important role in future space-probe journeys.

HAYABUSA employs a new technology - the ion engine. This engine first ionizes the propellant gas, Xenon, then electrically accelerates and emits the ions, to propel itself forward. As it is a highly efficient engine, it is expected to be an important technological tool for our future exploration of the Moon and the planets. HAYABUSA will demonstrate this technology.

Another innovation that HAYABUSA will demonstrate is the Autonomous Navigation System, which enables the probe to approach a far-away asteroid without human guidance. The system works by measuring the distance to the asteroid with the Optical Navigation Camera, and using Light Detection and Ranging.

HAYABUSA will not only gather samples but also observe the asteroid with various scientific devices and measures. For that purpose, it is equipped with a Telescope Wide-View Cameras and Light Detection and Ranging, as well as with a Near Infrared Spectrometer. It will also employ a hopping robot, which can move around on the asteroid’s surface. When HAYABUSA returns to Earth, a re-entry capsule bearing a surface sample from the asteroid will separate from it and plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere. This is also a very important experiment in space engineering.

[Mike Fieschko]

Today's HAYABUSA
As of 9:00 2005/09/14(JST)

Distance from Earth : 318,928,350km
Distance from Itokawa : 20km

Doppler and altimeter data:

Figure-1 above shows the Doppler velocity difference between Itokawa and Hayabusa. The velocity dropped down to zero around 01:17 UTC. It indicates that Hayabusa fired its chemical propulsion thruster so that the relative velocity was canceled. Vertically approaching speed is taken in km/sec and is shown the doubled speed corresponding to a round trip measurement. Horizontally is shown the Universal Time (World Time: UTC) when the Doppler information was collected. Since radio travels for about 17 minutes from Hayabusa, the last firing occurred around 01:17 UTC. The resulted relative velocity was confirmed down to about 0.25 mm/sec.

Fig. 3 Laser Altimeter data after arrival

Figure-3 draws the Laser Altimeter measurement about two hours after the stop maneuver. Since Hayabusa is almost still to Itokawa, the range fluctuation comes from the terrain of Itokawa. The stop distance intended was about 20km relying on the Itokawa's ephemeris estimated based on the ground observation. However, the ephemeris contains some uncertainty and it affects the range measurement off-set. Details need to be analyzed.

[Mike Fieschko]

ping

[Tijeras_Slim]

Coolness.

[aliquando]

This stuff is just flat out spiffy!

[stevie_d_64]

Do a little dance, make a little love, git down tonight!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

This mission really does take the human factor out of it...

But alas...They are going to find out that "kilroy" was already there...

Thats where they get the "ulludium peeyou 38 explosive space modulator" from...Marvin says so...

[Flyer]

Then in November 2005, Hayabusa will descend toward the asteroid's surface and touch down twice. Each time, a fabric cone will touch the surface, triggering the firing of a pellet into the asteroid at 300 metres per second. After each firing, the probe will take off and attempt to collect the dust ejected from by the impact. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will also attempt one practice run before the pair of real touchdowns.

During its initial descent, the spacecraft will also deploy a little hopper called Minerva. The coffee-can-sized device will attempt several 10-metre-high jumps on the asteroid’s surface, taking temperature readings and pictures.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7990

[gridlock]

Ion Power? Pretty cool!

You just gotta hope they don't start messing around with that damn Queller Drive...

[Mike Fieschko]

ah, yes, September 13, 1999. Where was I on that day?


Breakaway

[Leo Carpathian]

investigate the mysteries of the birth of the solar system.

They still dunno it?

[NormsRevenge]

In this photo released by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the part of asteroid Itokawa is seen with the shadow of probe Hayabusa on top right Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005. The Japan's space agency suffered another glitch in its mission to collect surface samples from asteroid Itokawa and retrun to Earth when a can-sized robot lander apparently became lost in space while attempting a practice landing. The rehearsal landing followed an earlier attempt that was aborted due to mechanical trouble, but the space agency said it will go ahead with actual landings on the potato-shaped asteroid Itokawa on Nov. 19 and Nov. 25. (AP Photo/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, HO)