Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin
Issue #154 HAYABUSA2: Bringing Home a Mystery Featured Story · News from Space · The Lunar and Planetary Institute’s 50th Anniversary Science Symposium · Meeting Highlights · Opportunities for Students · Spotlight on Education · In Memoriam · Milestones · New and Noteworthy · Calendar LUNAR AND PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN October 2018 Issue 154 Issue #154 2 of 53 October 2018 Featured Story Hayabusa2: Bringing Home a Mystery On May 9, 2003, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched Hayabusa, the first mission to return an asteroid sample back to Earth. Fifteen years later, JAXA, in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), has sent a second mission to rendezvous with an asteroid, with the objective of returning yet another sample. Both Hayabusa missions were designed to provide insight and understanding into the building blocks of the solar system. Hayabusa brought us back pieces of 25143 Itokawa, an S-class asteroid. Hayabusa2 is on course to return samples from 162173 Ryugu, a C-class asteroid. This sample will be the first returned from a C-class asteroid. The Spacecraft Hayabusa2 launched on December 3, 2014, and arrived at its target, Ryugu, on June 27, 2018. This bold, exciting mission has raised the bar on its predecessor by including a lander (the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, MASCOT, a collaboration with ESA) and three MINERVA_II rovers, as well as targeting three touchdowns to sample the surface. The sampling payload also includes the Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI), designed to create a crater on the surface of Ryugu. This crater will enable the spacecraft to sample more pristine materials from below the space-weathered surface.
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