hayabusa2 mission parts pricelist

This asteroid mission is the sequel to the Hayabusa spacecraft, designed for returning asteroid samples. By investigating a different type of asteroid (type C) from the Itokawa asteroid (type S) that was the target of Hayabusa, Hayabusa2 will explore not only the origins of the planets, but also the origin of the water of Earth’s oceans and the source of life.

Hayabusa2 primarily followed the sample return method performed by the first Hayabusa mission. However, a series of improvement were implemented to increase reliability so that the mission was able to obtain greater accuracy and reliability. The mission also took on additional challenges using new technology, such as that for creating an artificial crater on the asteroid surface and collecting a sample of the subsurface material. Improving spacecraft technology for exploring astronomical objects within the Solar System is an important goal for the Hayabusa2 mission.

Hayabusa2 examined asteroid (162173) Ryugu. Ryugu is a type C asteroid and it is believed that the composition of such asteroids still include organic matter and water from when the Solar System was forming, roughly 4.6 billion years ago. The second goal of the Hayabusa2 mission is to investigate questions regarding the origin of the Earth’s water and where the organic matter that forms life originally came from. Another aspect of the mission is to examine how the planets formed through the collision, destruction, and combination of planetesimals, which are thought to have been formed early in the Solar System. In short, Hayabusa2 is a mission designed to elucidate the creation of life and the birth of the Solar System.

Hayabusa2 arrived at Ryugu on June 27, 2018, collected samples from the asteroid during two touchdowns in 2019, and delivered the sample capsule back to the Earth on December 6, 2020. After delivering the capsule, the spacecraft continued on to a new mission. This new phase is referred to as the “Extended Mission”, with a new target destination of the small asteroid, 1998 KY26. This is a long-term mission whose duration exceeds 10 years over which there is an itinerary of events followed by the rendezvous with the rapidly rotating 1998 KY26.

After returning to the Earth in December 2020, Hayabusa2 separated the sample capsule and left for a new journey into deep space. The Extended Mission will use the remaining ion engine fuel (Xenon), of which about half currently remains. The next target destination is asteroid 1998 KY26 and arrival is scheduled for 2031. During the journey, a flyby is planned of asteroid 2001 CC21 in 2026, and two Earth swing-bys in 2027 and 2028.

The final destination for the Extended Mission, 1998 KY26, is a very small object with a diameter of several tens of meters. The asteroid is part of a class referred to as fast rotating asteroids due to its extremely rapid rotation time of just 10 minutes. The “small and fast” attribute creates a very special physical environment near the asteroid’s surface, as the centrifugal force due to the rotation exceeds the gravity of the asteroid. How a target marker behaves when dropped in such an environment will be a scientifically interesting test. The characteristics of this type of celestial body have not been explored by humankind before, and the comparative observations with asteroid Ryugu are expected to deepen the scientific knowledge obtained at Ryugu.

Moreover, many asteroids of this size exist in outer space and are anticipated to collide with the Earth at a cadence of once every 100 to 1000 year, causing significant damage. However, ground-based observations are not able to reveal the details of these asteroids. Exploration with Hayabusa2 to establish both the physical characteristics of these asteroids and operation methods in the vicinity is expected to deepen knowledge about this asteroid class and provide us with useful information for designing countermeasures against an Earth collision.

The proximity flyby of asteroid 2001 CC21 scheduled for 2026 will be an additional technology demonstration that will contribute to Planetary Defense. To acquire meaningful science data with the camera onboard Hayabusa2, the spacecraft must approach as close as possible to the asteroid without a collision, and high orbit guidance accuracy relative to the asteroid is required. While optical navigation is essential due to the uncertainty in the asteroid’s orbit, asteroids are darker than planets such as the Earth and Venus, and can only be seen a few days before the flyby. The unique difficulties presented by the last minute navigation guidance for an asteroid mean that the flyby operation is similar to orbit-inducing technologies used to collide a spacecraft with an asteroid. Measures to change the orbit of an asteroid through collision with a spacecraft are being considered at a method of Planetary Defense to avoid a future Earth impact. The technology required for the flyby of Hayabusa2 can therefore directly contribute to the development of these measures.

As described above, the activities during the Hayabusa2 Extended Mission are expected to make notable contributions to Planetary Defense. This makes the significance of the mission enormous, and also explains why the challenges required for success are so diverse. For example, among the points to consider is how close the 2026 asteroid flyby can be, how the surface of the asteroid can be approached in regions where a target marker cannot be place, and what needs to be done during the ten year operation plan.

Fortunately, we still have plenty of time to plan these operations. Over this period, junior engineers who it is hoped will take on future active roles, are attempting to tackle the above mentioned interesting challenges together with colleagues who have experience in exploration. The Hayabusa2 Extended Mission is a valuable environment where both experienced and junior researchers can work together on the same issues and pass on their skills. This forms an important basis for developing the human component of exploration missions.

Sampler mechanism, Re-entry capsule, Laser ranging (LIDAR, light detection and ranging), Scientific mission equipment (near infrared and thermal infrared), Impactor, Rover (MINERVA-II)

They resemble small fragments of charcoal, but the soil samples collected from an asteroid and returned to Earth by a Japanese spacecraft were hardly disappointing. The samples Japanese space officials described Thursday are as big as one centimetre (0.4 inches) and rock hard, not breaking when picked up or poured into another container. Smaller black, sandy granules the spacecraft collected and returned separately were described last week. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft got the two sets of samples last year from two locations on the asteroid Ryugu, more than 300 million kilometres (190 million miles) from Earth. It dropped them from space onto a target in the Australian Outback, and the samples were brought to Japan in early December.

This image shows soil samples, seen inside C compartment of the capsule brought back by Hayabusa2, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Japanese space officials said Thursday they found more asteroid soil samples collected and brought back from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, in addition to black sandy granules they found last week, raising their hopes of finding clues to the origins of the solar system. Image credit: Twitter/JAXA

To get the second set of samples in July last year, Hayabusa2 dropped an impactor to blast below the asteroid’s surface, collecting material from the crafter so it would be unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors.

Hayabusa2, meanwhile, is on an 11-year expedition to another small and distant asteroid, 1998KY26, to try to study possible defences against meteorites that could fly toward Earth.

The capsule brought back by the Hayabusa2 space probe contained more than 5.4 grams of soil samples from a distant asteroid, exceeding the original target of 0.1 gram, Japan"s space agency has said.

Hayabusa2 is a Japanese spacecraft that studied asteroid Ryugu, collected samples, and brought them to Earth for analysis. The spacecraft is on an extended mission to asteroid 1998 KY26.

Hayabusa2 is a Japanese spacecraft that explored asteroid Ryugu (162173) from June 2018 to November 2019. It dispatched a series of landers and a penetrator, and it collected multiple samples from the asteroid.

JAXA launched Hayabusa2 in December 2014 to collect samples from Ryugu. After arriving at the asteroid in June 2018, Hayabusa2 deployed two rovers and a small lander on the surface. Then, on Feb. 22, 2019, Hayabusa2 fired an impactor into the asteroid to create an artificial crater. This allowed the spacecraft to retrieve a sample beneath Ryugu’s surface.

This movie was taken on Feb. 22, 2019, (JST) when Hayabusa2 first touched down on asteroid Ryugu to collect a sample from the surface. It was captured using the onboard small monitor camera (CAM-H). The video playback speed is five times faster than the actual time. Credit: JAXA

On Dec. 6, 2020, Hayabusa2 delivered the asteroid sample to Earth. The spacecraft swooped by Earth to drop a landing capsule containing the asteroid sample. The capsule made a fiery entry through our planet’s atmosphere and parachuted to a soft landing inside the Woomera Range Complex in the South Australian outback. The spacecraft is now on an extended mission to a smaller asteroid, called 1998 KY26.

Both missions explored carbonaceous asteroids, which are thought to be the rocky building blocks of the early solar system. These asteroids could help scientists better understand how the solar system formed, and how life later emerged.

On Nov. 30, 2021, NASA received 23 millimeter-sized grains and 4 containers of even finer material from Ryugu – 10% of the total collected by Hayabusa2. A JAXA official and a JAXA scientist delivered the asteroid fragments to the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Hayabusa2 is a follow-up to Japan’s original Hayabusa mission, which was the first spacecraft to take samples from an asteroid, and was also the first mission to successfully land and take off from an asteroid. It returned samples from asteroid 25143 Itokawa to Earth on June 13, 2010.

Hayabusa2asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese state space agency JAXA. It is a successor to the Hayabusa2 was launched on 3 December 2014 and rendezvoused in space with near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 27 June 2018.UTC.

Hayabusa2 carries multiple science payloads for remote sensing and sampling, and four small rovers to investigate the asteroid surface and analyze the environmental and geological context of the samples collected.

Initially, launch was planned for 30 November 2014,H-IIA launch vehicle.Hayabusa2 launched together with PROCYON asteroid flyby space probe. PROCYON"s mission was a failure. Hayabusa2 arrived at Ryugu on 27 June 2018,

Following the initial success of Hayabusa, JAXA began studying a potential successor mission in 2007.Hayabusa2. The cost of the project estimated in 2010 was 16.4 billion yen (US$149 million).

Hayabusa2 was launched on 3 December 2014, arrived at asteroid Ryugu on 27 June 2018, and remained stationary at a distance of about 20 km (12 mi) to study and map the asteroid. In the week of 16 July 2018, commands were sent to move to a lower hovering altitude.

The first sample collection was scheduled to start in late October 2018, but the rovers encountered a landscape with large and small boulders but no surface soil for sampling. Therefore, it was decided to postpone the sample collection plans to 2019 and further evaluate various options for the landing.Hayabusa2 released an impactor to create an artificial crater on the asteroid surface. However, Hayabusa2 initially failed on 14 May 2019 to drop special reflective markers necessary onto the surface for guiding the descent and sampling processes,JST), dropping the contents by parachute in a special container at a location in southern Australia. The samples were retrieved the same day for secure transport back to the JAXA labs in Japan.

The design of Hayabusa2 is based on the first Hayabusa spacecraft, with some improvements.solar arrays with an output of 2.6 kW at 1 AU, and 1.4 kW at 1.4 AU.lithium-ion batteries.

Hayabusa2 carried four small rovers to explore the asteroid surface MINERVA-II-2, failed before release from the orbiter. It was released on 2 October 2019 to orbit the asteroid and perform gravitational measurements before being allowed to impact the asteroid a few days later.

MASCOT was deployed 3 October 2018. It had a successful landing and performed its surface mission successfully. Two papers were published describing the results from MASCOT in the scientific journals C-type asteroids consist of more porous material than previously thought, explaining a deficit of this meteorite type. Meteorites of this type are too porous to survive the entry into the atmosphere of planet Earth. Another finding was that Ryugu consists of two different almost black types of rock with little internal cohesion, but no dust was detected.Journal of Geophysical Research and describes the magnetic properties of Ryugu, showing that Ryugu does not have a magnetic field on a boulder scale.

The first two surface samples were scheduled to start in late October 2018, but the rovers showed large and small boulders and insufficient surface area to sample, so the mission team decided to postpone sampling to 2019 and evaluate various options.

Hayabusa2"s sampling device is based on Hayabusa"s. The first surface sample retrieval was conducted on 21 February 2019, which began with the spacecraft"s descent, approaching the surface of the asteroid. When the sampler horn attached to Hayabusa2"s underside touched the surface, a 5 g (0.18 oz) tantalum projectile (bullet) was fired at 300 m/s (980 ft/s) into the surface.

The sub-surface sample collection required an impactor to create a crater in order to retrieve material under the surface, not subjected to space weathering. This required removing a large volume of surface material with a powerful impactor. For this purpose, Hayabusa2 deployed on 5 April 2019 a free-flying gun with one "bullet", called the Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI); the system contained a 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) copper projectile, shot onto the surface with an explosive propellant charge. Following SCI deployment, Hayabusa2 also left behind a deployable camera (DCAM3)

Replica of Hayabusa"s sample-return capsule (SRC) used for re-entry. Hayabusa2"s capsule is of the same size, measuring 40 cm (16 in) in diameter and using a parachute for touchdown.

At the end of the science phase in November 2019,Hayabusa2 used its ion engines for changing orbit and return to Earth.Hayabusa2 flew past Earth in late 2020, it released the capsule, on 5 December 2020 at 05:30 UTC.Woomera Test Range in Australia.×10^9 km (35.0 AU).

With the successful return and retrieval of the sample capsule on 6 December 2020 (JST), Hayabusa2 will now use its remaining 30 kg (66 lb) of xenon propellant (from the initial 66 kg (146 lb)) to extend its service life and fly out to explore new targets.2001 CC21 will be a high-speed fly-by of the L-type asteroid, a relatively uncommon type of asteroid.Hayabusa2 was not designed for this type of fly-by. The rendezvous with 1998 KY26 will be the first visit of a fast rotating micro-asteroid, with a rotation period of about 10 minutes.exoplanets.Venus flyby to set up an encounter with

The nickname of the Extended Mission is “Hayabusa2♯” (read “Hayabusa2 Sharp”). The character “♯” is a musical symbol that means “raise the note by a semitone”, and for this mission, it is also the acronym for “Small Hazardous Asteroid Reconnaissance Probe”. This name indicates that the Hayabusa2 Extended Mission is set to investigate small but potentially dangerous asteroids that may collide with the Earth in the future. The English meaning of the word “sharp” also highlights the extremely challenging nature of this mission, which is also reflected in the musical meaning of “raise the note by a semitone”, suggestive of raising of the rank of the mission.

As the character “♯” is a musical symbol, it can be difficult to enter in practice when typing. The symbol can therefore be substituted for the “#” symbol (number sign / pound / hash) that is on computer keyboards or phones. There is no problem with the notation “Hayabusa2♯” (musical symbol) or “Hayabusa2#”.

Tachibana, S.; Abe, M.; Arakawa, M.; Fujimoto, M.; Iijima, Y.; Ishiguro, M.; Kitazato, K.; Kobayashi, N.; Namiki, N.; Okada, T.; Okazaki, R.; Sawada, H.; Sugita, S.; Takano, Y.; Tanaka, S.; Watanabe, S.; Yoshikawa, M.; Kuninaka, H. (2014). "Hayabusa2: Scientific importance of samples returned from C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3". Geochemical Journal. 48 (6): 571–587. Bibcode:2014GeocJ..48..571T. doi:10.2343/geochemj.2.0350.

Yuichi Tsuda; Makoto Yoshikawa; Masanao Abe; Hiroyuki Minamino; Satoru Nakazawa (October–November 2013). "System design of the Hayabusa 2 – Asteroid sample return mission to 1999 JU3". Acta Astronautica. 91: 356–362. Bibcode:2013AcAau..91..356T. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.06.028.

Makoto Yoshikawa (6 January 2011). 小惑星探査ミッション「はやぶさ2 [Asteroid Exploration Mission "Hayabusa2"] (PDF) (in Japanese). 11th Symposium on Space Science. Retrieved 20 February 2011.

Operation Status of Ion Engines of Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2, Nishiyama, Kazutaka; Hosoda, Satoshi; Tsukizaki, Ryudo; Kuninaka, Hitoshi; JAXA, January 2017

The Ion Engine System for Hayabusa2 Archived 6 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The 32nd International Electric Propulsion Conference, Wiesbaden, Germany, September 11–15, 2011

Kameda, S.; Suzuki, H.; Takamatsu, T.; Cho, Y.; Yasuda, T.; Yamada, M.; Sawada, H.; Honda, R.; Morota, T.; Honda, C.; Sato, M.; Okumura, Y.; Shibasaki, K.; Ikezawa, S.; Sugita, S. (2017). "Preflight Calibration Test Results for Optical Navigation Camera Telescope (ONC-T) Onboard the Hayabusa2 Spacecraft". Space Science Reviews. 208 (1–4): 17–31. Bibcode:2017SSRv..208...17K. doi:10.1007/s11214-015-0227-y. S2CID 255069232.

Terui, Fuyuto; Tsuda, Yuichi; Ogawa, Naoko; Mimasu, Yuya (July 2014). 小惑星探査機「はやぶさ2」の航法誘導制御における自動・自律機 [Autonomy for Guidance, Navigation and Control of Hayabusa2] (PDF). Artificial Intelligence (in Japanese). 29 (4). ISSN 2188-2266. Retrieved 9 July 2018.

Okada, Tatsuaki; Fukuhara, Tetsuya; Tanaka, Satoshi; Taguchi, Makoto; Imamura, Takeshi; Arai, Takehiko; Senshu, Hiroki; Ogawa, Yoshiko; Demura, Hirohide; Kitazato, Kohei; Nakamura, Ryosuke; Kouyama, Toru; Sekiguchi, Tomohiko; Hasegawa, Sunao; Matsunaga, Tsuneo (July 2017). "Thermal Infrared Imaging Experiments of C-Type Asteroid 162173 Ryugu on Hayabusa2". Space Science Reviews. 208 (1–4): 255–286. Bibcode:2017SSRv..208..255O. doi:

Yoshimitsu, Tetsuo; Kubota, Takashi; Tsuda, Yuichi; Yoshikawa, Makoto. "MINERVA-II1: Successful image capture, landing on Ryugu and hop!". JAXA Hayabusa2 Project. JAXA. Retrieved 24 September 2018.

Yoshimitsu, Tetsuo; Kubota, Takashi; Tomiki, Atsushi; Yoshikaw, Kent (24 October 2019). Operation results of MINERVA-II twin rovers onboard Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer (PDF). 70th International Astronautical Congress. International Astronautical Federation. Retrieved 25 January 2020.

Ho, Tra-Mi; et al. (2017). "MASCOT—The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout Onboard the Hayabusa2 Mission". Space Science Reviews. 208 (1–4): 339–374. Bibcode:2017SSRv..208..339H. doi:10.1007/s11214-016-0251-6. S2CID 255067977.

Grott, M.; Knollenberg, J.; Borgs, B.; Hänschke, F.; Kessler, E.; Helbert, J.; Maturilli, A.; Müller, N. (1 August 2016). "The MASCOT Radiometer MARA for the Hayabusa 2 Mission". Space Science Reviews. 208 (1–4): 413–431. Bibcode:2017SSRv..208..413G. doi:10.1007/s11214-016-0272-1. S2CID 118245538.

Saiki, Takanao; Sawada, Hirotaka; Okamoto, Chisato; Yano, Hajime; Takagi, Yasuhiko; Akahoshi, Yasuhiro; Yoshikawa, Makoto (2013). "Small carry-on impactor of Hayabusa2 mission". Acta Astronautica. 84: 227–236. Bibcode:2013AcAau..84..227S. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.11.010.

Sarli, Bruno Victorino; Tsuda, Yuichi (2017). "Hayabusa2 extension plan: Asteroid selection and trajectory design". Acta Astronautica. 138: 225–232. Bibcode:2017AcAau.138..225S. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.05.016.

"はやぶさ２、再び小惑星へ 地球帰還後も任務継続―対象天体を選定へ・ＪＡＸＡ" [Hayabusa2 will explore another asteroid, continuing mission after returning target sample to Earth] (in Japanese). Jiji Press. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.

Asteroid Samples Suggest , Origin of Life on Earth , May Have Come Via Impact. Scientists have now confirmed that samples taken from the asteroid Ryugu contain organic molecules. . Gizmodo reports that the revelation adds credence to the theory that the origin of life on Earth could have been delivered via meteorite and asteroid impacts. Ryugu is a rocky remnant leftover from the formation of our solar system over 4 billion years ago. . The primitive carbonaceous asteroid was visited by Japan"s Hayabusa2 mission, which gathered samples from the surface back in 2019. The mission has provided scientists with a fascinating window looking into what the solar system was like in its infancy. Among other compounds, scientists found 15 different amino acids, amines and aromatic hydrocarbons in the samples. . The presence of prebiotic molecules on the asteroid surface despite its harsh environment caused by solar heating and ultraviolet irradiation, as well as cosmic-ray irradiation under high-vacuum conditions, suggests that the uppermost surface grains of Ryugu have the potential to protect organic molecules, Hiroshi Naraoka, Planetary scientist at Kyushu University in Japan and the paper’s lead author, via "Gizmodo". The presence of prebiotic molecules on the asteroid surface despite its harsh environment caused by solar heating and ultraviolet irradiation, as well as cosmic-ray irradiation under high-vacuum conditions, suggests that the uppermost surface grains of Ryugu have the potential to protect organic molecules, Hiroshi Naraoka, Planetary scientist at Kyushu University in Japan and the paper’s lead author, via "Gizmodo". These molecules can be transported throughout the solar system, potentially dispersing as interplanetary dust particles after being ejected from the uppermost layer of the asteroid by impacts or other causes, Hiroshi Naraoka, Planetary scientist at Kyushu University in Japan and the paper’s lead author, via "Gizmodo". The team"s findings were published in "Science.". Gizmodo reports that NASA"s OSIRIS-REx mission is currently returning from an asteroid known as Bennu, where it completed similar sampling operations

Hayabusa 2 is a mission of firsts. The fact that Japan has taken asteroid exploration so seriously is excellent for the field of space resources. By completing close-up investigations of the various spectral types of asteroids, we will learn more beyond what can be observed from a distance, or from meteor fragments found on Earth. This is important for many reasons, such as understanding solar system formation and gaining a better ability to estimate asteroid features from afar. This mission to Ryugu gives us a close up view of a Cg-type, a rare combination of both C-type (carbonaceous) and G-type (a sub-type of C that indicates phyllosilicate minerals).

The Hayabusa 2 mission will allow this estimate and similar asteroid type estimates to be further refined, increasing our confidence in exploring and utilizing similar nearby asteroids in the future.

It wasn’t until hundreds of millions of years later, in the 1800s, that human astronomers trained their telescopes on the sky and began identifying and studying asteroids. Fast forward to 1999. That year, the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey discovered two near-Earth asteroids that would go on to become the targets for two robotic sample return missions: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, launched in 2016 to study asteroid Bennu, and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2, launched in 2014 to study Ryugu.

The only sample humanity has ever collected directly from an asteroid came back with JAXA’s Hayabusa Mission in 2010. That sample contains less than a milligram of particles from Itokowa, a “stony” asteroid with high silica content.

Both spacecraft will reach their respective destinations during 2018 – Hayabusa2 in June and OSIRIS-REx in December – and the missions fit together like two adjoining pieces of a cosmic puzzle. In combination, the data and discoveries from these two asteroid explorers will reveal a long-shrouded portion of the Solar System’s portrait.

Mapping, navigating around, and collecting samples from small Solar System bodies are all relatively new endeavors for humanity, and the two mission teams have already been sharing ideas, data, and lessons learned for several years as part of a major partnership between NASA and JAXA. This exchange will continue as the two spacecraft operate in close proximity to their target asteroids. The OSIRIS-REx team will host Japanese scientists in the Science Operations Center at the University of Arizona, and OSIRIS-REx team members will travel to JAXA during Hayabusa2’s operations. They will share software, data, techniques for analysis, and aspects of each other’s cultural systems in the process. Ultimately, the two agencies will exchange portions of the returned samples as well.

By contrast, Hayabusa2 will not actually orbit Ryugu. In fact, the JAXA spacecraft will spend only about three months mapping before it begins the process of collecting three separate, but smaller, samples from different geographic locations on Ryugu. In addition to remote sensing, Hayabusa2 will deploy a lander (called MASCOT) and two rovers (called MINERVA-II 1 and 2) and will use a projectile and small explosive during one sampling process to collect material from beneath the asteroid’s surface.

Both spacecraft are venturing into far-away and unknown territory and attempting feats that are new to humanity. For the most part, they will be on their own on the asteroid frontier, but the value of running complementary missions cannot be overstated. The scientific and cultural returns from the two missions combined is far more than double the value of each individual mission. The ability to make comparisons during planning, operations, and after the samples are returned reduces risk and make both missions exponentially better.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 mission dropped off its sample collection capsule before moving on to the next part of its extended mission: visiting more asteroids.

Hayabusa2 launched on December 3, 2014, and arrived at the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in June 2018. The spacecraft collected one sample from the asteroid’s surface on February 22, 2019, then fired a copper “bullet” into the asteroid to create a 33-foot wide impact crater. A sample was collected from this crater on July 11, 2019.

The agency’s first Hayabusa mission returned samples from the asteroid Itokawa to Earth in June 2010, but scientists said that due to failure of the spacecraft’s sampling device, they were only able to retrieve micrograms of dust from the asteroid.

Since Hayabusa2 isn’t returning to Earth, it ejected the 35-pound sample return capsule as it swung by our planet at a distance of 136,701 miles. Then, the spacecraft changed its course to travel beyond Earth and move along with its extended mission.

“Just spotted #hayabusa2 from #ISS! Unfortunately not bright enough for handheld camera, but enjoyed watching capsule! Thanks Houston & Tsukuba for pointing information!!!”

Just spotted #hayabusa2 from #ISS! Unfortunately not bright enough for handheld camera, but enjoyed watching capsule! Thanks Houston & Tsukuba for pointing information!!!— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口　聡一（のぐち　そういち） (@Astro_Soichi) December 5, 2020

The Australian government granted JAXA permission to land its capsule in the Woomera Prohibited Area in South Australia. This remote area is used by Australia’s Department of Defence for testing.

Hayabusa2 will fly by three asteroids between 2026 and 2031, eventually reaching the rapidly rotating micro-asteroid 1998 KY26 in July 2031 millions of miles from Earth. It will be the first flyby of this type of asteroid.

“I anticipate that the Hayabusa2 samples of asteroid Ryugu will be very similar to the meteorite that fell in Australia near Murchison, Victoria, more than 50 years ago,” said Trevor Ireland, professor in the Australian National University Research School of Earth Sciences and a member of the Hayabusa2 science team in Woomera, in a statement.

The NASA OSIRIS-REx mission recently collected a sample from another near-Earth asteroid, Bennu, that is similar in composition to Ryugu. In fact, based on early data from both missions, scientists working on both missions believe it’s possible these two asteroids once belonged to the same larger parent body before it was broken apart by an impact.

There are technologies Apple could deploy to boost the quality of sound transmission between iPhones and AirPods and make AirPods Pro 2 the best AirPods so far

This is rarely a problem with today"s lossy Bluetooth transmissions because they don"t push Bluetooth to the limit – if there"s a bit of a drop in speeds, the connection is still strong enough for the sound to come through

But if you"re maxing out Bluetooth"s data capacity with lossless transmission, then even a small drop in data speeds will cause stuttering, because the signal is incomplete

So there are two solutions here used by LDAC that Apple will probably imitate (well, not exactly, but in principle): the first is to never use the maximum bitrate of Bluetooth; the second is to be able to adjust the transmission rate on the fly so the signal never totally degrades

The point is to only use that when the connection would drop if it didn"t – better to maintain uninterrupted transmission at lower quality for a moment than to throw a data wobbly leaving you wondering what"s happening

SBC is only ever used for Bluetooth, which means that if you have an MP3 file or the OGG files used by Spotify, they have to be converted to SBC on the fly for transmission

This means that there"s no conversion if you"re playing an AAC file on your phone to some headphones that support AAC, so it"s a lossless transmission, of a sort

If Apple creates its own high-quality Bluetooth transmission system, we"d expect it to be based around ALAC, so that no conversion would be necessary – just some smart managing of the data rate, of the kinds mentioned above