Japan Conducts Near-Earth Asteroid Flyby
The probe sent back images and data and will help JAXA test navigation methods for future planetary defense missions.
- On Sunday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency confirmed that Hayabusa2 successfully completed a flyby of asteroid Torifune, executing a critical test of spacecraft navigation technology for planetary defense missions.
- Seeking to acquire technology for planetary defense, JAXA designed this mission to assess whether scientists could precisely control the probe's trajectory near asteroids at high speed without collision.
- Traveling at more than 18,000 kilometres per hour, Hayabusa2 approached within 800 meters of Torifune to capture images while maintaining control throughout the high-speed encounter.
- JAXA reported the spacecraft is working normally following the successful flyby, with the agency planning to release detailed results and images at a news conference on Monday.
- Hayabusa2 continues toward its final 2031 destination, the 11-meter-wide asteroid 1998 KY26, though astronomer Toni Santana-Ros warned the object's rapid rotation and tiny size will make the encounter significantly more challenging.
49 Articles
49 Articles
Another Success for Hayabusa 2 as it Completes a Flyby of Asteroid Torifune
JAXA's Hayabusa 2 has completed its flyby of asteroid Torifune. The spacecraft came within about 800 meters of the asteroid's surface. Though the spacecraft is travelling very rapidly, making navigation challenging, it was still able to capture clear images of the asteroid's boulder-strewn surface. Based on ground-based observations, scientists suspected that Torifune was a contact binary asteroid, and these images confirm it.
JAXA releases photo of asteroid Torifune taken by Hayabusa2
TOKYO (Jiji Press) -- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, on Monday released a photo of Torifune that was taken by Hayabusa2 at close range when the unmanned probe flew past the asteroid the previous day.The photo was taken just a second before the scheduled time of Hayabusa2's closest approach to the asteroid. When the picture was taken, the distance between Hayabusa2 and Torifune was believed to be only a few hundred meters. The n…
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