Japanese Hayabusa Probe in Trouble on Asteroid Mssion
An AFP newswire article, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:
A Japanese spacecraft believed to have collected the first-ever samples from an asteroid has been hit by technical trouble that could mean the landmark mission ends in failure.
The Hayabusa probe successfully landed on Itokawa asteroid 290 million kilometers (180 million miles) from Earth on Saturday for the second time and scientists are optimistic it succeeded in collecting material from the surface.
The unmanned six-meter (20-foot) craft is supposed to begin returning to Earth in mid-December.
But the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which operates the probe, said it found a problem with one of its thrusters designed to control its position.
posted by Fergie @ 11/29/2005 06:37:00 AM
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