I was watching the live video feed from Japan, and watching the Hayabusa Live blog as the spacecraft got closer and closer to the asteroid. I had to leave after Hayabusa got within 90 meters, and came back an hour and a half later expecting to have missed everything.Well, here it is nearly eleven hours later, and there hasn't been an update from the Hayabusa blog. According to the Associated Press, the spacecraft closed to within 56 feet (17 meters) of the asteroid, and then JAXA lost contact with it for three hours. During the three hour blackout, the probe went into an automatic-operation mode, recording data that it later transmitted to ground control after communication was reestablished.
And now Reuters reports that it is unclear as to whether or not the spacecraft completed the most crucial part of its mission - landing on the asteroid and firing a small metal pellet into the surface, and collecting the resulting ejecta for return to earth.
Update: reaction to yesterday's Hayabusa glitch from Tom's Astronomy Blog and Postcards From the Bleeding Edge.
Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids
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