JAPAN PROBE SET FOR ASTEROID TOUCH DOWN

[Anonymous]

Probe set for asteroid touch down

Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft will soon move into place for an historic attempt to collect a sample from an asteroid.

During its encounter with asteroid Itokawa, Hayabusa will touch down twice and send a small robot to the surface.
This could have great scientific value; the sample could
help researchers learn more about the raw materials that made up the
early Solar System

Japanese scientists have also proposed names for significant regions of the asteroid’s surface.

Hayabusa has been collecting spectral data and images of
Itokawa from its “gate” position, about 20km (12 miles) from the
asteroid.
Over the next few days, the probe will move into its “home” position, just 7km (4.3 miles) from the asteroid.
Two tries
In November, the probe will make two brief touchdowns on the asteroid.
Because of the low gravity on these bodies, the probe cannot stay on its surface for very long.

Each time it “lands”, it will fire a metal pellet into
the surface at 300m/s. After the firings, the probe takes off to
collect the dust ejected by the impact.
Hayabusa will conduct a practice run before the two sample collection attempts.
The Japanese probe will also deploy a small robotic
“hopper” called Minerva. This will perform several 10m-high jumps on
the surface, taking pictures and temperature readings.
Mission scientists have named the smooth terrain on the
asteroid the Muses Sea, after the home of the goddesses of arts and
sciences in Greek mythology.
A possible crater on Itokawa has been called Uchinoura
Bay, after the spaceport area on Kyushu island where Hayabusa blasted
off.
Another potential impact structure has been named
Woomera Desert after the area where the mission’s sample return capsule
is to be recovered.
Hayabusa’s sample-return cannister should parachute back to Earth in June 2007.The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) launched Hayabusa on 9 May 2003 aboard an M-V-5 rocket.

[Author]

October 4, 2005 at 10:45 AM