Itokawa
A Pair of CubeSats Using Ground Penetrating Radar Could Map The Interior of Near Earth Asteroids
Characterizing near-Earths asteroids (NEAs) is critical if we hope to eventually stop one from hitting us. But so far, missions…
Did the Earth’s Water Come From the Sun?
Where did Earth's water come from? Comets may have brought some of it. Asteroids may have brought some. Icy planetesimals…
Hayabusa1’s Samples of Itokawa Turned up Water That’s Very Similar to Earth’s Oceans
A recent study of samples from the asteroid Itokawa has revealed that "dry" asteroids may have delivered up to half…
Awesome Radar Images Reveal Asteroid 2014 HQ124’s Split Personality
On June 8, the 370-meter (about 1,300-ft.) asteroid 2014 HQ124 breezed by Earth at a distance of just 800,000 miles (1.3…
Hayabusa 2 Mission Approved by Japanese Government
[/caption] In 2010, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa completed an exciting although nail-biting mission to the asteroid Itokawa, successfully returning samples…
JAXA Delays Releasing Details of Hayabusa Sample Return
[/caption] No news yet if there are specks of asteroid dust in the Haybusa sample return container. JAXA has decided…