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The Planetary Report • January/February 2006
Hayabusa: The Falcon Flies
On the Cover: “If you build a high tower and climb it, you will see a new horizon,” said Jun’ichiro Kawaguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa mission to asteroid Itokawa. Hayabusa (which means “falcon” in Japanese) has been beset with troubles in its mission to the near-Earth asteroid, but it has still returned remarkable images and has set the stage for future sample return missions. Hayabusa captured this image of Itokawa on October 22, 2005.
Features
6 Hayabusa: A Daring Sample Return Mission: A.J.S. Rayl tells the story of Hayabusa's harrowing adventure.
12 Deep Impact: Understanding Comet Tempel 1: Lucy McFadden and Ray Brown detail what scientists are discovering about the comet, and what it has taught us about the solar system.
Departments
3 Members' Dialogue The journalistic quality of The Planetary Report; members' names in space
4 We Make it Happen! Shoemaker NEO grant winners
18 World Watch The NASA budget and the "science vs. shuttle" debate
19 Society News 25th Annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC)
20 Q&A Cassini mission planning; using radio telescopes to detect exoplanets
The Planetary Report • January/February 2006
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