Space Topics: Hayabusa (MUSES-C)
The Year in Pictures: 2005
Hayabusa Follows Its Shadow to Snatch a Sample from Itokawa
Itokawa as Hayabusa descends, November 19, 2005 at 19:58 UTC
Credit: ISAS / JAXA
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November 19. Hayabusa descended
toward Itokawa on November 19 in an attempt to snatch a sample from one of
the few smooth areas on the asteroid, a place that the Hayabusa team had named "Muses
Sea" in a pun on
the original name of Hayabusa, MUSES-C. Hayabusa descended with the
Sun directly overhead, so as Hayabusa approached Itokawa the shadow of the
spacecraft's two rectangular solar panels appeared on Muses Sea, surrounded
by a nimbus of sunlight. At an altitude of 35 meters, Hayabusa released
a tiny reflective target marker containing 880,000 names of people from Earth
to guide the last moments of its descent. It
touched down and bounced at about 21:10 UTC on the 19th but failed to
collect a sample and may have been damaged in the process.
Hayabusa's shadow and target marker
Pictures captured during Hayabusa's landing on Itokawa on November
19 show Hayabusa's shadow and the bright spot of the target marker
containing 880,000 names on the surface of the tiny asteroid. Source Credit:
ISAS / JAXA |
A
second sample collection attempt was performed on November 26, but controllers
at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are unsure whether a sample was collected. Problems
that developed in Hayabusa's chemical thrusters during the two sampling attempts
caused a loss of control of the spacecraft, delaying
its planned return from 2007 to 2010. It
remains unclear whether Hayabusa can be controlled well enough to bring it
safely home with its sample. Nevertheless, JAXA accomplished much with
its rendezvous, stationkeeping, descents, and sample collection at Itokawa.
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