Japan Asteroid Probe Returns to Earth

Tokyo, June 14 (Jiji Press)--Ending its seven-year voyage, a
Japanese asteroid probe has returned to Earth, with scientists closely
watching whether the probe's sample return capsule contains sands of the
asteroid, "Itokawa."
If the capsule actually has Itokawa's sands inside, it will be the
first spacecraft that brings back a geological sample from an asteroid,
officials at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
According to JAXA, the unmanned probe, called "Hayabusa," meaning
falcon, successfully separated the heat-resistant capsule before its
atmospheric entry. Hayabusa burned up around 10:30 p.m. Sunday Japan time,
while the capsule parachuted down to a southern Australian desert.
Work to recover the capsule started on Monday morning. It will take
several hours, the officials said, expressing hope that the sands, if found
inside the canister, will help elucidate how the solar system has evolved
since its birth some 4.6 billion years ago.
JAXA launched Hayabusa from its observatory in Uchinoura, Kagoshima
Pref., southern Japan, in May 2003, and Hayabusa reached a point near
Itokawa, located between Earth and Mars, in September 2005. The asteroid was
named after late Hideo Itokawa, a pioneer of Japan's rocketry and known as
the father of the country's space program.
Hayabusa made two landings on and departures from Itokawa in
November the same year. Though its rock and stone sampling system failed to
work, chances are high that sands stirred up by the spacecraft entered the
capsule because its cap was open, the officials said.
After recovering the capsule, JAXA will analyze the sample, if any.
The analysis will take time, they said.
Even if the capsule contains no sand, Hayabusa should be credited
for revealing that Itokawa is made from debris of celestial bodies that
collided with each other, experts said.
The Japanese space agency is now planning another asteroid probe.


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