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Hayabusa Returns

Hayabusa Returns
Hayabusa Returns Top: On June 13, 2010, Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft returned home from its seven-year journey to asteroid Itokawa. A team of scientists from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA, and other organizations studied the spacecraft's fiery reentry using instruments on board NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. The small point of light at the lower right in this still video frame is the precious sample-return capsule. Bottom: Hayabusa team members transported the sample-return capsule to Australia's Woomera Test Range Instrumentation Building, where it was held overnight before being returned to Japan. NASA/ARC-SST SETI Institute, Australian Science Media Center