1 day / second
0.5 AU
Hayabusa
Spacecraft
A pioneering Japanese sample return mission that visited asteroid Itokawa in 2005, collected microscopic grains from its surface through a series of touch-and-go maneuvers, and successfully returned them to Earth in 2010 despite numerous technical difficulties.
Key Facts
organization | JAXA |
orbital regime | Inner System |
learn more | Wikipedia |
launched | 2003-05-09 |
returned | 2010-06-13 |
launch mass | 510 kg |
Mission Timeline
Launched
May 9, 2003 at 04:29 UTC
25143 Itokawa
Lander
After a troubled landing attempt in November 2005, Hayabusa managed to briefly touch down on asteroid Itokawa and collect a microscopic sample before experiencing a series of technical issues that nearly ended the mission.
Returned
June 13, 2010 at 14:12 UTC
The spacecraft completed its mission by successfully returning the first-ever asteroid samples to Earth, landing in the Australian outback after a seven-year journey to asteroid Itokawa and back.
Related Spacecraft
Hayabusa2
Launched in 2014
A robotic spacecraft launched in 2014 that rendezvoused with asteroid Ryugu, deployed multiple landers, collected samples through two touchdowns, and successfully returned 5.4 grams of material to Earth in December 2020.
