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INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT TO BUZZ EARTH ON DEC. 3RD Japan's Hayabasa 2 spacecraft, on a six year mission to catch and sample an asteroid, will fly past Earth on Dec. 3rd. Earth's gravity will slingshot the spacecraft toward its target, 162173 Ryugu, which Hayabasa 2 is expected to reach in July 2018. This is a still from an animation at JAXA (the Japanese space agency) previews the flyby.  Many have never heard of Hayabasa 2. It is an amazing mission. After the spacecraft reaches Ryugu in 2018, it will orbit the asteroid for a year and a half. During that time, Hayabasa 2 will deploy four landers and drop a copper impactor to blow a hole in the asteroid's side. Hayabasa 2 itself will touch down on the asteroid, briefly, at least once to collect samples excavated by the impactor. In Dec. 2019, the spacecraft will leave the asteroid and use its ion engines to return to Earth, carrying precious samples of Ryugu. Ambitious? Yes. But if Hayabasa 2 completes even a fraction if its mission, it will be a success. The spacecraft is small (mass: 590 kg, dimensions: 2 x 1.6 x 1.25 meters), so when it flies by Earth it will not be very bright. A telescope will be required to see it. Veteran satellite observer Rick Baldridge notes that "for the US west coast, the spacecraft gets barely 7 degrees above the western horizon at closest approach. Observers in Alaska, Hawaii and Japan are favored. Ephemerides for specific locations may be obtained on the JPL HORIZONS website." . |
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