Hayabusa2
Japanese asteroid sample-return mission that returned Ryugu samples to Earth.
Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese state space agency JAXA, succeeding the earlier Hayabusa mission that first returned asteroid samples in 2010. Launched on 3 December 2014 aboard an H-IIA rocket alongside the PROCYON probe, it rendezvoused with the near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 27 June 2018. Carbonaceous asteroids like Ryugu are considered primitive, preserving minerals, ice, and organic compounds that may shed light on the origin of Earth’s water and organic materials relevant to life. The spacecraft surveyed Ryugu for a year and a half, deploying four small rovers—including Rover-1A (HIBOU) and Rover-1B (OWL) in September 2018 and the MASCOT rover in October 2018—to investigate the surface. After initial delays due to a boulder-strewn landscape, the first surface sample was collected on 21 February 2019. In April 2019, an impactor created an artificial crater to expose subsurface material, and a sub-surface sample was taken on 11 July 2019. The spacecraft departed Ryugu in November 2019 and returned its samples to Earth on 5 December 2020 UTC, landing in southern Australia. Its mission was extended through at least 2031, including a flyby of asteroid 98943 Torifune in July 2026 and a planned rendezvous with another small, rapidly rotating asteroid in July 2031. The spacecraft, based on the original Hayabusa design, uses four solar-electric ion thrusters (μ10) for propulsion and carries chemical thrusters for attitude and orbital control.
- field
- Space exploration
- nationality
- Japanese
- known_for
- First mission to deploy operating rovers on an asteroid; returned samples from a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid
- mission_type
- Asteroid sample-return
- operator
- JAXA
Quick Facts
- Mission Type
- Asteroid sample-return
- Operator
- JAXA
- Cospar Id
- 2014-076A
- Satcat
- 40319
- Website
- http: · www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en
- Mission Duration
- 6 years (planned) / (2014 · 12 · 3 elapsed)
- Spacecraft Type
- Hayabusa
- Manufacturer
- NEC
- Launch Mass
- 600 kg
- Dry Mass
- 490 kg
- Dimensions
- Spacecraft bus: 1 xx / Solar panel: 6 x
- Power
- 2.6 kW (at 1 au), 1.4 kW (at 1.4 au)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Hayabusa2 is a spacecraft designed to collect material from an asteroid and bring it to Earth. It has a mass that includes its fuel and generates electricity using two sets of solar panels, producing different power levels depending on its distance from the Sun. The craft stores this energy in multiple lithium-ion batteries. For propulsion, it uses four ion thrusters that turn xenon gas into plasma, ejecting it to create a small but highly efficient thrust; three engines running together can produce a specific maximum force, and the xenon supply allows for a total velocity change of up to two kilometers per second. It also has four reaction wheels and a set of chemical thrusters for precise orientation and maneuvering near its target. The spacecraft carries multiple instruments for remote sensing and sampling, along with four small rovers designed to explore the surface and study the environment. Its primary target was the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, a primitive carbonaceous body thought to contain some of the most unaltered materials in the Solar System, including minerals, ice, and organic compounds. Hayabusa2 spent a year and a half surveying this asteroid, deploying rovers, and collecting samples from both the surface and subsurface, the latter exposed by firing a shaped explosive charge. After departing the asteroid, it returned the sample container to Earth, where it was retrieved in Australia. Its mission was later extended to include a flyby of another asteroid in July 2026 and a planned rendezvous with a small, rapidly rotating asteroid in July 2031.
Reader's Guide
Carbonaceous asteroids are thought to preserve pristine materials—minerals, ice, and organic compounds—that can provide knowledge on the origin and evolution of the inner planets and the origin of water and organic compounds on Earth, relevant to the origin of life. The mission achieved several firsts, including deploying operating rovers on an asteroid. Its spacecraft featured improved ion engines, guidance and navigation technology, and a kinetic penetrator to expose pristine subsurface material. The returned samples were retrieved and transported to JAXA labs in Japan for analysis. The mission demonstrates JAXA's capability in deep-space sample return and contributes to understanding the early Solar System.
Did You Know?
- Hayabusa2 was the first spacecraft to deploy operating rovers on an asteroid.
- It used a kinetic penetrator (a high-explosive shaped charge) to expose pristine sample material from beneath the asteroid surface.
- The spacecraft carried four small rovers: Rover-1A (HIBOU), Rover-1B (OWL), MASCOT, and Rover-2.
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