Facts about Hayabusa2 Mission
- 09
At approximately 10 meters per second, Hayabusa2's reentry capsule descended through Earth's atmosphere on December 5, 2020, creating a visible fireball visible across Australian skies.
- 08
Hayabusa2's infrared spectrometer detected absorption features at 2.7 micrometers on Ryugu's surface, indicating the presence of clay minerals formed through aqueous alteration in the asteroid's parent body.
- 07
During its extended mission beyond Ryugu, Hayabusa2 successfully rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroid 1998 KY26 in July 2031, marking humanity's first close encounter with this small fast-rotating object.
- 06
Hayabusa2 deployed four rovers and landers onto Ryugu's surface, including two hopping rovers that used spring mechanisms to navigate the asteroid's low gravity environment.
- 05
Launched on December 3, 2014, Hayabusa2 traveled 3.2 billion kilometers over nearly six years to reach asteroid Ryugu in June 2018.
- 04
The Hayabusa2 mission's total cost reached approximately 16.2 billion yen, making it one of Japan's most expensive space exploration projects to date.
- 03
Hayabusa2 fired an impactor into asteroid Ryugu on July 5, 2019, creating an artificial crater to expose subsurface material for sampling.
- 02
Ryugu's samples analyzed by Hayabusa2 revealed organic compounds and water-bearing minerals, suggesting the asteroid formed in the outer solar system before migrating inward.
- 01
In December 2020, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected 5.4 grams of material from asteroid Ryugu and returned it to Earth in a capsule.