Japan's "Falcon" Spacecraft Returns—Asteroid Dust On Board?
Hayabusa probe to create twin fireballs over Australia.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the craft—dubbed Hayabusa, or "falcon" in Japanese—in 2003. The probe rendezvoused with the small near-Earth asteroid Itokawa in 2005, where it lingered for several months before heading back toward home.
After a round-trip journey of four billion miles (six billion kilometers), Hayabusa is expected to land in Australia around midnight on June 13 (10:30 a.m. ET on June 12).
Despite a few glitches along the way—including problems with the instruments designed to take samples—it's possible Hayabusa managed to collect a small amount of asteroid dust and gas.
Hayabusa's sample container was designed to hold up to ten milligrams of material,
