Japan Asteroid Explorer: Recovery Plan Underway (Update)

Engineers at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have announced that their Hayabusa spacecraft will resume operations.

The spacecraft encountered problems with its suite of ion engines. But thanks to some long-distance adjustments, the probe can maintain the current return cruise, JAXA has stated.

"Enough thrust is found available for the rest of the cruise, when the neutralizer of the engine-A is combined with the ion source of the engine-B," according to JAXA in a November 19 statement.

If that coupling of ion engine oomph continues to work as planned, Hayabusa can be back to Earth around June of 2010.

The JAXA spacecraft visited asteroid Itokawa, sampling the space rock and is returning to Earth a possible specimen of that object.

Hayabusa was launched on May 9, 2003.

In September 2005, the explorer arrived at the asteroid Itokawa about 300 million kilometers away from the Earth. In November 2005, it successfully landed on Itokawa. In April 2007, Hayabusa started full cruising operation to return to Earth.

For more information, go to:

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/11/20091119_hayabusa_e.html

By Leonard David