Hayabusa
A computer rendering of Hayabusa above Itokawa's surface
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| Names | Muses-C (before launch) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission type | sample return | ||||||||||
| Operator | JAXA | ||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2003-019A | ||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 27809 | ||||||||||
| Mission duration | 7 years, 1 month and 4 days | ||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||
| Launch mass | 510 kg (1,120 lb) | ||||||||||
| Dry mass | 380 kg (840 lb) | ||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||
| Launch date | 04:29:25, May 9, 2003 | ||||||||||
| Rocket | M-V | ||||||||||
| Launch site | Uchinoura Space Center | ||||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||||
| Disposal |
sample return capsule: recovered spacecraft: ballistic reentry Minerva and rover: lost contact |
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| Last contact | Minerva: November 12, 2005 | ||||||||||
| Recovery date | sample capsule: 07:08, June 14, 2010 | ||||||||||
| Decay date | spacecraft: June 13, 2010 | ||||||||||
| Landing date | sample capsule: June 13, 2010 | ||||||||||
| Landing site | near Woomera, Australia | ||||||||||
| Flyby of Earth | |||||||||||
| Closest approach | 06:23, May 19, 2004 | ||||||||||
| Distance | 3,725 km (2,315 mi) | ||||||||||
| Sun orbiter | |||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | 01:17, September 12, 2005 | ||||||||||
| 25143 Itokawa lander | |||||||||||
| Landing date | 21:30, November 19, 2005 | ||||||||||
| Return launch | 21:58, November 19, 2005 | ||||||||||
| 25143 Itokawa lander | |||||||||||
| Landing date | November 25, 2005 | ||||||||||
| Sample mass | <1g | ||||||||||
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| Instruments | |
|---|---|
| AMICA | Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera |
| LIDAR | Light Detection and Ranging Instrument |
| NIRS | Near-Infrared Spectrometer |
| XRS | X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer |
Hayabusa (はやぶさ?, literally "Peregrine Falcon") was an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. Hayabusa, formerly known as MUSES-C for Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft C, was launched on 9 May 2003 and rendezvoused with Itokawa in mid-September 2005. After arriving at Itokawa, Hayabusa studied the asteroid's shape, spin, topography, colour, composition, density, and history. In November 2005, it landed on the asteroid and collected samples in the form of tiny grains of asteroidal material, which were returned to Earth aboard the spacecraft on 13 June 2010.
The spacecraft also carried a detachable minilander, MINERVA, which failed to reach the surface.
Other spacecraft, notably Galileo and NEAR Shoemaker both sent by NASA, had visited asteroids before, but the Hayabusa mission was the first attempt to return an asteroid sample to Earth for analysis.
In addition, Hayabusa was the first spacecraft designed to deliberately land on an asteroid and then take off again (NEAR Shoemaker made a controlled descent to the surface of 433 Eros in 2000, but it was not designed as a lander and was eventually deactivated after it arrived). Technically, Hayabusa was not designed to "land"; it simply touches the surface with its sample capturing device and then moves away. However, it was the first craft designed from the outset to make physical contact with the surface of an asteroid. Junichiro Kawaguchi of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science was appointed to be the leader of the mission.
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