Hayabusa sample return mission

Abstract

Hayabusa was the first asteroid sample return mission. It was launched in May 2003, and arrived at the target asteroid (25143) Itokawa in September 2005. The mission enabled us to see close up a very tiny asteroid in detail for the first time. Hayabusa observed Itokawa with its scientific instruments, and attempted to collect surface material. The mission experienced several serious problems, but successfully returned to Earth in June 2010. After retrieving the capsule, we found thousands of small grains that had been captured from the asteroid. We studied Itokawa in detail with both the remote sensing data and the returned samples, which revealed a great deal of new information to shed light on its origin. In this chapter, we review the Hayabusa mission and summarize the scientific results. Show more