Emily Lakdawalla • Jun 13, 2010
Hayabusa sample capsule photographed on the ground in Australia
Oh my wonderful little flying saucer, you have been to an asteroid and back -- and you were burning like a star last night! And there you are, sitting quietly in the desert, just waiting to be retrieved...
![Hayabusa sample return capsule sitting in the Woomera desert, Australia](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_2400x1610_crop_center-center_82_line/20150919_20100614_hayabusa_L_cropped.jpg 2400w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x805_crop_center-center_82_line/20150919_20100614_hayabusa_L_cropped.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x515_crop_center-center_82_line/20150919_20100614_hayabusa_L_cropped.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x386_crop_center-center_82_line/20150919_20100614_hayabusa_L_cropped.jpg 576w)
Clearly I've been affected by reading so many automated translations of Japanese text over the last 24 hours. But this is such a welcome sight. To be perfectly honest, while I knew the trajectory corrections had worked and Hayabusa was going to crash to Earth, I lacked confidence that the capsule separation would work, and I don't think I ever believed the parachute and beacon would work, after the extra 3-year delay; I figured the battery wouldn't work and at best we'd have Genesis on our hands again, with the capsule crashed into the desert and broken open. I really never believed it would work so well. I'm sorry, Hayabusa mission and JAXA, for my lack of faith! You really have accomplished something amazing.
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