Japan's Hayabusa Probe Brought Something Home, But Is It Asteroid Dust?

Yes, the Hayabusa mission's sample container captured some tiny dust particles. No, we still don't know whether those particles are the first bits of an asteroid ever returned to Earth by a spacecraft. Scientists from Japan's space agency, JAXA, have slowly and cautiously been prying open Hayabusa's container. They have released photos that show particles trapped in there, none of which are larger than a millimeter, but at least 10 of which are visible to the naked eye. However, it may take months to know whether those came from the Itokawa asteroid that Hayabusa visited, or somewhere else.