Spacecraft Sample Reveals Age of Asteroid Itokawa

This artist's concept shows Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft collecting tiny dust grains from the asteroid Itokawa. (Credit: JAXA) Japan's asteroid-visiting Hayabusa spacecraft wasn't a complete disaster, but it definitely got off to a rocky start. Launched in 2003, the world's first sample-return mission was quickly sidelined when it was struck by charged particles from a powerful solar flare shortly after its launch. Despite this, Hayabusa eventually reached its target — the loosely bound asteroid Itokawa — in late 2005. Hayabusa was equipped with a miniature lander meant to hop along the surface of the asteroid. But, in another faux pas, the lander was unceremoniously lost into space shortly after its deployment. Fortunately, Japan's space agency, JAXA, still managed to touch down on asteroid Itokawa with the main Hayabusa spacecraft, which kicked up teeny dust grains that it collected and stored for its return to Earth. On June 13, 2010, Hayabusa earned its name ("peregrine falcon") by dive-bombing through Earth's atmosphere at 7.5 miles (12.2 kilometers) per second. As expected, the vast majority of the spacecraft disintegrated upon reentry; however, the heat-shielded sample-return capsule survived the fall relatively unscathed, providing researchers with unparalleled access to the surface of an asteroid for the very first time.