The beleaguered Hayabusa asteroid probe is back on track to return to Earth after a clever workaround coaxed one of its ion engines back to life. The recovery is yet another reversal of fortune for the Japanese spacecraft, which has been plagued with problems since its visit to asteroid Itokawa in 2005.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been studying measures to deal with the anomaly detected in one of the ion engines aboard the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" as reported on November 9, 2009. As a result, the project team has come up with a recovery operation plan, and the project decided to resume the operations, while carefully watching the status of the ion engines. JAXA has been studying the characteristics of the neutralisers and the ion sources. During the study, enough thrust is found available for the rest of the cruise, when the neutraliser of the engine-A is combined with the ion source of the engine-B. While the operation still needs monitored carefully, the project team has concluded the spacecraft can maintain the current return cruise schedule back to the earth around June of 2010, if the new engines configuration continues to work as planned.
Japanese Asteroid Explorer's Ion Engine develops problems On November 4th (Wed., Japan Standard Time), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency identified that one of the main ion engines (Thruster D) aboard the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" had autonomously stopped detecting a high neutraliser voltage owing to degradation. The HAYABUSA was during the second propulsion period in its return cruise back to the Earth in June 2010. Since the anomaly was identified, the project team has been trying to restart the engine while investigation of the causes; however, the engine has not been restarted yet as of today.
On November 4th (Wed., Japan Standard Time), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency identified that one of the main ion engines (Thruster D) aboard the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" had autonomously stopped detecting a high neutraliser voltage owing to degradation. The HAYABUSA was during the second propulsion period in its return cruise back to the Earth in June 2010. Since the anomaly was identified, the project team has been trying to restart the engine while investigation of the causes; however, the engine has not been restarted yet as of today. JAXA is currently under diagnostic investigation of the ion engines system aboard the HAYABUSA and trying to build an alternative sequence that helps the HAYABUSA return back to the Earth safely. JAXA will inform you of the update as soon as available.
Engine trouble for already tardy Hayabusa Launched in 2003, Japan's Hayabusa was supposed to travel 2 billion kilometres and bring back samples from an asteroid. It would be a world's first asteroid sample return mission, but in November 2005, following encouraging news that Hayabusa had landed on the asteroid (named Itokawa), JAXA officials expressed serious doubt over whether it was actually able to get any rocks
A 510-kilogram space probe will "collide" with our home planet in June 2010 to simulate an approaching asteroid, Japanese scientists have announced. The Hayabusa spacecraft is currently on its way back to Earth after a successful mission that landed on and hopefully collected samples from the asteroid Itokawa.
Space probe to help track risky asteroids Hayabusa, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency space probe used for research on Itokawa, a near-Earth asteroid, is to be used to develop a system to help predict the orbits of asteroids that could collide with Earth, the agency said. Hayabusa has been placed in an orbit in which it could return to Earth in June next year unless it burns up in the atmosphere. As the probe will almost certainly tumble into the atmosphere like an asteroid, it is hoped it can be used to provide some idea of the accuracy of the system used to predict the course along which such a small celestial object can hit Earth.
Japan's beleaguered space probe Hayabusa, which may or may not have collected samples of an asteroid, fired up its engine Wednesday to resume its trip back to Earth.
Japan's beleaguered space probe Hayabusa, which may or may not have collected samples of an asteroid, fired up its engine Wednesday to resume its trip back to Earth. After more than a year coasting through space, Hayabusa reignited its ion-powered engine to begin the second leg of what has become an extra-long trek home from the asteroid Itokawa, said officials with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is doing its best to operate the Asteroid Explore "HAYAUBSA" to return it to Earth in June 2010. After leaving the orbit around the asteroid "ITOKAWA," the ion engine of the HAYABUSA was cut off on Oct. 18, 2007 (Japan Standard Time, JST) to complete the first phase orbit manoeuvring for returning to the Earth. Since then, the HAYABUSA has been in a coast flight, but today we reignited the ion engine for a powered flight at 11:35 a.m. (JST) after activating its reaction wheel and establishing the three axis attitude control. We will continue to gradually accelerate the HAYABUSA until around March 2010 to carry out the second phase orbit manoeuvring for returning it to the Earth. From April to June 2010, we will guide the HAYABUSA, which will have reached much closer to the Earth by then, to further come near to the earth's orbit with higher accuracy, and plan to carry out the re-entry of its capsule into the atmosphere in June 2010. The total accumulated operation time of the ion engine reached 31,000 hours, and the total engine generation for orbit manoeuvre(*1) was 1,700 meters per second (m/s) to date. The HAYABUSA still has enough thrust power and propellant. Some 400 m/s more of engine generation for orbit manoeuvring is necessary for returning to the Earth. We are continuing to pay careful attention to our onboard equipment and are doing our utmost to operate the HAYABUSA with the greatest care.
(*1) engine generation for orbit manoeuvre: volume of acceleration by an ion engine JAXA Press Release
